XMen Down
by closetfan
Summary: COMPLETE. When Scott and Jubilee are shot out of the sky, can the rest of the Xmen find them before it's too late? Chapter 15 up. Please R
1. Flying lessons

A/N I don't own X-Men. But thank you Marvel for letting me write about them.

Chapter 1

"Thanks for picking me up, Cyc. But isn't San Francisco a bit far away for just a pickup?"

Cyclops snapped a few levers, as he prepared to lift off, "Not really, Jubilee. I needed to pick up some new replacement parts in L.A., so you were just a hop, skip and a jump away. And why take a commercial flight all the way back to New York, when you can have door to door private service, huh?"

As Scott reached cruising altitude Jubilee asked, "Can I take over the controls for a while?"

"Uh, I don't think it's a good idea."

"But it's perfect. Can't you see? We're gonna be in the air a coupla hours and it's not like you'll be flying. You'll have the autopilot on, so why not let me hold the controls? C'mon, Scott. You'll never know when you'll need another pilot in an emergency. So why not at least get me started. You know Professor X said I could start taking flying lessons."

"As long as you maintained all A's and B's."

She hesitated, "Well, I'm almost there. I have a few more weeks to bring up my C in math. C'mon, Scott. Pretty please?"

He sighed, "Ok, but any problems or rough weather, I take over."

"Yes!"

He got up and stood beside her and pointed to one button, "When I tell you, press this to turn off the autopilot."

"NOT NOW! Wait until I tell you," he yelled as she reached for it.

Jumping about a foot, "Gee Cyc, you didn't have to scream so loud. I wasn't going to push it. I was just getting ready."

"First things first, young lady. You aren't buckled in. Even as a passenger, you're were supposed to have been buckled in."

"Well you're not right now."

He scowled, "Do you want me to get you started on flying this bird or not," Impatience laced his voice.

"Ok, ok." Jubilee snapped the heavy duty safety harness in place.

"Now, put your left hand on the yoke. Hold it firmly. You're gonna feel a little buck when you take the autopilot off. Just hold it in place. Don't turn it, don't pull forward or back. I'll instruct you from there. When I ask you to give me control back, press that switch in front of you, it will transfer command to me. Ready?"

"Boy am I!"

"Ok, take it off autopilot."

Scott, still standing next to her seat, held on waiting for a rough shift to manual. He raised an eyebrow in surprise when the crossover went as smooth as silk, "Not bad, Jube, not bad."

"See, I toldya I'm a natural. I'll pick up flying this thing in no time."

Enjoying her excitement just as much, he asked, "Want to try a little maneuvering?"

"Does Jean love chocolate?" knowing full well of his wife's addiction for the dark confection.

"Alright, smartass. How about taking us down about 1000 feet? But I want it slow and easy. Pull the throttle here very, very slowly while you push forward on the yoke."

Scott watched Jubilee with the experienced eye of the grade A teacher that he was, "That-a-girl, easy….easy. You're doing great. Now let's level off."

"That was so cool Scott!"

"Now bank left. I want a large circle. Too steep, ease up a bit……….that's it. Hold it steady. We're almost back to where we were. Doing great. Check your altitude. Good girl!"

Jubilee was exploding with excitement when several pocks struck the right side of the craft. Scott groaned as the ship lurched and started to plummet.

The young girl screamed as sparks and smoke spewed from the consol.

Scott slid into his seat. "Transfer control to me. Quick!"

She hit the switch, screaming, "What did I do Scott? What did I do?"

The question remained unanswered as he held the bucking controls with a steel clamp grip. Sweat trickled down his brow as he fought to keep the aircraft under control. All power had been lost. Hydraulics were unresponsive as they hurdled earthward.

"Mayday. Mayday. Base, this is Cyclops, we're going down. I repeat we're going down."

All he heard was static, "Damn, the radio's gone too!"

He stole a glance over to the white faced girl, "Hold on Jube, this is going to be a very rough landing."

As the ground approached them she imbedded her fingernails into the armrests of her chair. She pushed herself away from the oncoming view.

"Scott? Are we gonna die?" squeaked from her lips but it was too late to answer.


	2. Desert isolation

Chapter 2

"Owwwwww."

Eyes closed, Jubilee raised her hand to her head. "What the hell happened?"

Every motion felt like she was moving through molasses. A smoke-caused cough cleared her brain fog and she snapped her eyes opened.

The smoke, thick and pungent, was everywhere, accented with an occasional flying spark.

"Oh my God! Help!" She fumbled to unlock her seat harness. Panicking, she screamed, "Scott, help me. Get me out of here!"

On the verge of using her powers to burn away the safety belt, it finally unclicked. She bolted out of the seat and ran for the door.

Pounding on the controls to get it open, she screamed when it did not respond. "Scott, Scott, where are you? Scott, help me out!"

Terror rose from her gut. She realized that Scott had already abandoned the damaged ship. She screeched, "Bastard! Why did you leave me here? How did you get out? How could you leave me?"

She pounded on the door without success.

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"Hey Cajun, where's everyone?"

Remy looked up from the coffee he was studying at the growl that just entered the room.

"Hi to you too, Wolverine. You be hiding ina cave? Professor and Jean in Washington for dat conference of all big-ass leaders. Cyclops and Jube are out west, somew'ere. Da kids're scattered about, studyin' I guess. Da women be shoppin' leavin just us to hold down da fort."

"Coffee fresh?"

"Yep, help yourself."

"What's botherin' you, Gumbo?"

Gambit stared back down into his coffee cup. "Remy have dis feelin. T'ought he heard somet'ing over the radio, but stopped soon as it started. But somet'ing 'bout dat chatter bother Gambit."

"Give it to Hank. Maybe his computers'll decipher it."

The Cajun smiled, "Already did, mon ami."

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Tears streamed down Jubilee's face. Terror was bubbling up through her gut. _'How do I get out? How did Scott get out?'_

She ran back to the front of the plane with the thought of trying the radio, and stopped dead in her tracks. _'The window! It's broken.'_ Gingerly, but with as much speed as she dared, she climbed out the jagged exit catching the back of her leg.

"Ouch!" she cried as she looked down. _'Hmmm, nothing that a band aid wouldn't fix.'_

Once freed of her prison, she backed away from the jet, surprised and dismayed at the damage. There was no way this bird was flying out of the desert.

"How're Scott and I gonna get home?" The thought of Cyclops snapped her back to reality and she called out, "Scott! Scott, where are you?"

She frantically looked about turning away from the plane. She remembered that he wasn't harnessed in and her heart skipped a beat when she saw something resting against the base of a rock formation almost 100 yards away. She recognized the tan shirt and blue jeans and started running towards him. As she neared, she could see that his clothes were tattered, the jeans of his left leg from above the knee was gone.

"Oh my God, Scott," she cried as she fell to her knees next to him. She tentatively placed her fingers on his neck and felt for a pulse. She took a deep breath as she removed her trembling hand. He was alive. It didn't take long for her to realize though that his glasses were missing. If he woke up and looked at her, she would be toast.

The first thing she did was search the breast pocket of his brown leather jacket. She groaned when she pulled out several broken pieces. Worried, she hunted for the glasses that he was wearing when the plane crashed hoping they fell off not far from him. After looking around for 15 minutes, she cursed and headed back into the damaged ship for the first aid kit. If she wrapped his eyes he would have a little warning before he tried to open them.

Jubilee sat on a rock next to the injured man. She had finished wrapping his eyes almost an hour ago. Still he hadn't moved.

"Scott? Please wake up. Don't leave me. I need you. I can't survive without you. "Please Scott!"

As if answering her prayer, a soft groan escaped his lips.

"Scott, Scott! Don't move. Just lay quiet and don't open your eyes," pleaded the young girl.

"Huh. What happened? Why are my eyes bandaged?" He hissed in pain when he tried to move. He was lying on his side and wanted to roll onto his back but thought better of it.

"I can't find the glasses you were wearing on the plane and the spare in your pocket were smashed."

"Did you check the drawer under the consol? I have another pair in there."

"No," she cried and ran to the ship before he could say anything more.

He knew that either they weren't there or they were busted when he heard her curse. He tried to move again but pain shot up his leg deep into the marrow of the bone. He gritted his teeth and waited for the girl to return.

"I couldn't get to the drawer Scott. I tried everything including my powers. There's hardly any of the consol left intact."

"Do you have the first aid kit out here?" he asked trying to mask the pain in his voice.

"Yeah. Oh, Scott. You're leg!" His lower leg took on an unnatural bend indicating both bones were fractured.

"I know. Did the bone break through the skin?"

"It didn't. It's a clean break."

"Then use the airboot in the kit. Put it on and inflate it."

She rummaged through the box and pulled out a leg-shaped piece of soft plastic. "I got it."

He instructed, "Place it on my lower leg and just pop in the air cylinder. It'll inflate on its own."

"I'm sorry, Scott," she said as he hissed. Any way she tried to put the boot on caused him pain. Anyway she moved the leg, it hurt. Frustrated she said, "Scott, I can't do this!"

"Just put in on Jube. It's gonna hurt no matter how gentle you are. So just get it done and over with."

She picked up speed and saw that Scott held his breath during the agony. She cringed every time she had to handle the leg.

She almost panicked when the cylinder was popped in to inflate the air-cast and he let out with a scream.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that. You did just fine. You did everything right. It's inflated, so now the bones immobilized."

"But it's my fault we're here. I don't know what I did wrong, but I was flying the plane."

"It's not your fault. We were shot at."

"What! Who? How do you know?" she couldn't believe what he just said. But that explained the funny sounds she heard just before she lost control.

"I don't know who, but I took a hit."

Before she could say anything he rolled onto his back and moved his arm away to expose a large pool of blood.

There was a pause before he whispered, "I'll think I'll go to sleep now." Scott fell into a deep black void.


	3. Survival

Chapter 3

"Jean, I think this may just be the most important meeting we have ever had with the world leaders," Charles stated as he tried to relax with a cup of coffee during the session break.

Jean nodded as she sipped her tea.

She froze with the china cup halfway to her mouth, her eyes glazed over.

"Jean, what is it?"

"Something's wrong. But I can't place it." She looked around the crowded room full of dignitaries, worried that something was going to happen to them.

After closing his eyes and concentrating, the Professor looked to his gifted student, "I don't feel anything. Are you still reading something?"

She just shook her head feeling troubled deep inside.

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Jubilee sat stunned at what Scott just told her. Speechless at the blood she saw. She had never felt so hopeless before in all her short life. She ran back to the plane and crawled inside. The smoke had pretty much dissipated and the ship was now dead and lifeless. She just stood in the center looking around. For what? She didn't know. She didn't even know why she ran back there.

Hyperventilating she could feel her heart pounding though her chest.

"Jubie, you're not doing Cyc any good by panicking. Take a deep breath. He needs you. He'll never make it out of here alive without your help. You can both make it out of here alive if you don't panic!" She continued with her peptalk, trying to calm herself down.

"Go on the offensive, not defensive." It was working. She began to feel in control. She began to feel like she could do something. "Ok, Jube, what to do first. Think. There're a lot of things that need to be done."

Speaking aloud to no one, she said, "Alright, first, make a list of what needs to be done. Then put it in order of priority." She felt better now that she had the makings of a plan. She found her laptop and was elated that it still worked. Sitting in the pilot's seat she started a list:

Find help

Fix Scott up

Find food and water

Find shelter

Find a way out

Looks for Scott's glasses

She studied her list thinking that she needed to add more but she couldn't think of anything else at the moment. She could always add new items as she thought of them. As she looked over her file she decided that fixing Scott was the highest priority. She would then devote just a little time trying to find help. If that didn't work, she would need the remaining daylight to find shelter and sustenance. Closing her computer, she headed out of the broken ship and back to Scott.

"Cyclops?" She tried to wake him but was unsuccessful. _'Hmmmm, maybe it's better this way. I can wrap up his wound and he won't feel anything.'_

Jubilee sat on her rock, catching her breath in the furnace-like heat of the desert. She had wrapped the injured man's wounds and he was resting quietly, still not having regained consciousness. She could already see his flesh starting to sunburn so she moved 'shelter' to the top of her to-do list. She already knew that the ship was too hot to take refuge in. On her last visit there to retrieve water, she couldn't stand being inside for more than a few minutes before it became too oppressive.

She looked south at a fairly large outcropping of rock. It was the closest to them and she could jog there in about 10 minutes in this heat. Before she left however, she jerry-rigged her yellow coat as a make-shift tent to keep the direct sun off of Scott. Satisfied that he was protected, she took off hoping that she could find a cave or other shelter.

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Scott awoke in a haze. Confused, he tried to sit up, only to fall back in agony. The pain helped to clear the fog he was in and he remembered that his eyes were bandaged because of the lack of protective eyewear and nothing more. He didn't know what hurt more, his side from the bullet or his broken leg, but he lay still until the pain subsided a bit.

"Jube? Jubilee?" Fear filled his gut, not because he thought she'd abandoned him, which he knew she won't. But he was worried that she herself was hurt and unconscious somewhere.

He realized the sun was not directly on him and started to feel around as much as he could without moving much of his body. He reached straight up for the sky and hit cloth. Not expecting to have touched anything, he recoiled from it, then reached back out and felt it. He was sure it was Jubilee's coat, held by strategically placed rocks. He couldn't reach the far end without sitting up which he declined to try at the moment. Continuing the search of his surrounding, he found a canteen. _'She left me water. I hope that means she's ok.'_

Lying there in the intense heat, feeling totally helpless he called out, "Jubilee!"

He waited for a reply. Succumbing to the hopelessness that enclosed him, he cried out, "Jubilee, please don't leave me. I need you."

Scott rolled onto his side and struggled to get up on his knees. When he straightened up, his head hit the makeshift shelter. He flailed at it in a burst of panic and brought the coat down around him. Grabbing it, he threw it aside. As he knelt on his one good leg, he clutched his side, gritting his teeth to the pain. Realizing that was the extent of his energy, he melted down onto the ground and rolled over on his back.

A few minutes later seconds before he slipped back into the black abyss, he thought of his wife, _'Jean,I need you, my love.'_

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The entourage of diplomats filed back into the conference room. Charles glanced a worried looked at Jean walking beside him. She had been silent since her statement that something felt out of place. Stepping softly, eyes trained on the ground, she suddenly grabbed at her head, a low moan escaping her lips. The Professor reached out to her as she fell to her knees.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at her mentor, "It's Scott. For only a flash, he called out to me, then I felt darkness. Deep, enveloping blackness. Now there's nothing."

"But how could he be in trouble. He only went out to California to pick up Jubilee." He concentrated for a moment, eyes clenched and brow furrowed. "I can't reach him. I'll need the help of Cerebro to contact either of them at that distance." Charles looked anxiously around. As much of a son as Cyclops was to him, the lives of many more mutants and humans depended on this conference.

Xavier held both of Jean's hands, "We cannot leave now. Deep in your heart, you know that. The lives of two mutants when thousands, maybe even millions of lives are at stake must be gambled."

Tears streamed down her cheeks, "Charles, I must go. I must find Scott."

"My Dear, we don't know how bad he is. We don't even know what the problem is. He may be able to last several days while we wrap up here." He paused, "Or he may already be gone. You know what I speak is the truth. We have to stay and finish with this consortium."

"Charles."

He squeezed her hands.


	4. Gimme Shelter

Chapter 4

Jubilee ran around the base of the formation looking for any kind of entrance to a cave, or at least, a deep indentation where they could be shielded from the heat of the sun. When she found nothing at ground level, she climbed up. Scampering over boulders, jumping cracks and crevices, she checked out every place that looked like it could hide a shelter. She felt that if she could even find a hollow that had been blocked by fallen rock, she could remove enough rocks to make an entrance big enough for Cyclops to crawl through.

When she had thoroughly covered the whole area, she sat down and rested. Although hot, the water from the canteen was refreshing. She hoped that Scott found the other container she left with him. She debated whether to go onto the next formation that she saw in the distance or go back and check on her friend. What would she find if she went back, either Cyclops was awake, still unconscious or dead. If he wasn't dead, she still needed to find shelter. She looked in the direction she left him, then around to the direction she needed to go. She took another sip of water and headed away from the injured man.

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"Remy?"

"Yea, mon ami? You have somet'ing for Gambit?" he asked the highly intelligent blue furball standing in front of him.

"Not much. But I'm afraid enough to know something as happened to Scott and Jubilee. My computer was able to enhance just one word on the recording, 'Mayday'. But there was not enough of it to get a location. I have tried calling him, there's no response. I'm not receiving the emergency beacon that's activated when the ship goes down either. I fear that they are lost somewhere out west with no way of finding them."

"Da Professor could find dem easy if he was here."

Hank just nodded, "But we know how important that conference is in DC. I think, my friends, it is up to us to find our missing companions."

Logan growled, "Just dump me somewhere in the middle of Colorado and I'll find 'em.'

McCoy smiled, "While your keen sense of smell far exceeds that of any other creature, Logan, we are still talking thousands of miles. If they are in trouble near the Mexican border or Canadian border, I don't believe you will be able to find them. I'm going back to my lab. If we are lucky, we may be able to triangulate the general area where the mayday came from. Then Wolverine, we can 'dump' you off there."

"I'm not going to sit around and wait. They could be dying somewhere."

Remy looked at the gruff man, "If you leave, you may delay t'eir rescue. S'pose you head up Nort' and we find t'ey are sout'? Ya know we need you nose to help find t'em, once we be in da area."

"Listen, Gumbo…"

Hank broke in, "Remy is correct Logan. We may be able to find the general area. But that is when we will need your keen senses the most. I will page the Professor, and fill him in on the problem when he calls."

A deep throaty growl emanated from Wolverine.

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Jubilee sat down as soon as she reached the second rock formation. The heat was beating her into submission but she was not going to let it win. She took a sip of water, then poured a small amount into her hand. She patted that on her face making sure none of the water fell useless onto her clothes or dry earth. Fanning her wet face, she felt the cooling evaporation.

Rejuvenated, she performed the same search pattern as before, starting by walking the base of the rock. But she didn't go far. While peering though a crack, she saw what looked like a perfect room inside, illuminated by a small opening from above. She circled around the area to see if there was a more appropriate entrance. When none was found she climbed up to where she thought the 'window' was. It was no larger than a watermelon. Even she had trouble squeezing in there. Sticking her head and right arm into the hole, she let off a burst of firecrackers. She was pleased with what she saw. There below her was a cavern with a flat dirt floor. Plenty large enough to hold the two of them comfortably.

As she backed out, she sat down with a sigh. How was she going to get Scott in there? A tear rolled down her cheek. She was so close, yet so far. Here was the perfect shelter for him and she couldn't get him inside. She looked up at the harsh blue sky. It was mid-afternoon. Although still oven-hot, the worst of the day was over. Maybe they could still spend the night outside. She didn't fear rain or snow, nothing like that. Plenty of people camp out in the desert. She heard it gets cold during the night, but how cold could get when the day hit over 100?

She let out another sigh of resignation and started back to Scott. She would take inventory of the water and food on the ship. So if she needs to go looking for either, there would be some daylight left. She was hot and tired, and since this outcrop was further away, it was going to be a long walk.

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"Professor, I was just planning on contacting you."

"Hank, I need you to work on something…"

Beast interrupted Charles, "I hope whatever it is can wait Professor. It seems that we have lost contact with Scott and Jubilee."

"That is exactly why I am calling, Beast. Jean received a telepathic cry for help, but it was so fleeting that she was unable to pull any more information from it other than Scott was hurt."

"Good, it seems we are on the same wavelength, Professor. Gambit received a distress call, but needed the help of the computers to enhance it. All we got was 'mayday'. We weren't sure it was even from Scott at the time, but since none of us have been able to contact either of them, we concluded that the cry for help came from them. I have been busy trying to track down their last known location and try to triangulate that with the mayday. So far, I just have them in the southwestern U.S."

"That is still a large area Beast. As soon as I can leave this meeting I will come home and try to locate them using Cerebro. I hope you realize though, that this conference is too important to drop on the account of two people."

"I do, Professor. Logan is having a hard time swallowing that."

Charles took a deep breath, "As is Jean, Hank. As is Jean."

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Jubilee was walking on auto-pilot, her energy drained. The thought of Scott being out there alone was the only thing keeping her going. She trudged on, her foggy mind trying to think of a solution to their many problems.

"Ow!" She screeched. She grabbed for her arm where the sequoia scratched her. In her fury, she was about to create the first cactus fireworks in space. She shook off the urge. What was she thinking? She ran into it. It was just standing there minding its own business. She looked up at the tall, eloquent plant, marveling at its size and ability to survive in the parched conditions.

Her breath caught in her throat when she realized that she didn't remember seeing such a large succulent anywhere near where they crashed. She looked around, her heart pounding a native dance in her chest. She thought she left Scott around here against a rock formation. But she didn't see him, or the plane. The light was fading fast, the horizon a brilliant fire orange against a navy sky. Where was she? The desert looked so different with these elongated shadows.

She turned around to look for the two outcroppings that she had visited today. Maybe she could get back there and try to retrace her steps again before it got too dark. She cried out, "Scott! Scott!"

Silence.

"SCOTT!" she cried even louder.

"Jubilee?"

Relief flooded her system. She had just overshot where he was and didn't recognize the area from this angle.

She jogged back over and noticed that her coat was in a tangled heap next to him. She didn't remember any breeze that could have blown it over.

"Scott? Scott?" she asked, shaking him.

If she could look at his eyes as she would look at any normal human eyes, she would have seen that he was conscious. But since they were wrapped, she couldn't tell he was awake until he muttered, "Jube? Is that you?"

"Hey Cyc. Glad you could join the real world. Howarya doing? Did you drink anything today? Here, take a sip." She offered the canteen to him.

"Where are we? What happened? Owwww." The last statement came as he tried to sit up.

"Do you remember that we crashed, Scott?"

He nodded. "I also know why you bandaged my eyes."

"Good. Then your memory is pretty intact. We're out in the middle of a desert. The plane is toast. I went looking for some shelter because it got pretty hot out here today. Hmmm, you look pretty sunburnt, Cyc."

"That's the least of my discomfort."

"Anyway, I thought I found a great place to hole up in while I figure out a way to send for help. But we can't fit through the opening." Her voice trailed into defeat.

"You're forgetting, Jube. My eyes aren't injured, I just don't have my protective glasses. If you just point me in the right direction and say when, I can still blast an opening."

She lit up almost as bright as her powers. "You're right Cyc. But, it's getting dark now, I thought we'd camp out tonight and go there in the morning."

"Are you planning on building a fire? There should be blankets in the plane."

"A fire? Are you nuts? It was over 100 here today. I'm gonna enjoy the cool night."

"Jubilee, do you know how cold it gets out here at night? If we 'camp out' like you say, we're gonna need a fire." Feeling that his shirt was off, he rubbed his upper arms, "I sure as hell am going to get cold."

"It gets that cold?"

He nodded.

She looked up at the distance to the where the cave was. "There's not much light left. Do you want to try to get to the cave tonight?

"How far is it?"

"Maybe half a mile. No more than a mile."

Scott dropped his head in thought. His body ached all over. He didn't know what other injuries he had beside the broken leg and bullet wound. But he also knew the harsh desert nights. "Is there anything around that I can use as a makeshift crutch?"

"I don't know. Let me look around. I'll also go into the bird and see what we have regarding extra clothes or blankets. I should bring food too. I don't want to waste time eating now then trying to travel in the dark. Sit still, I'll be right back."

Time seemed to stand still for Scott. What was taking Jubilee so long? She just went for supplies from the ship. Was the ship that far away that she got lost in the dark? How dark was it? He couldn't tell. He knew when the sun was up, but not the difference between dusk and dark. He jerked his head to the sound of feet crunching on the desert floor.

"Hey Scott, I found what would be a perfect crutch for you, but I can't get it out. It's a T shaped pipe. I tried my powers but they aren't strong enough to cut through metal. I was thinking, if I can get you back to the ship, let you feel where it should be cut, you could do it. Whatcha think?"

He nodded, "Help me up."

She was having second thoughts about her suggestion when she heard the core-deep groan. Since it was his left leg that was broken and the bullet wound was in his right side, the only way for her to support him was with his left arm.

"Am I too heavy for you?"

"Scott, if you weighed a ton, I would still tell you that I can handle it. And I WILL handle it, no matter what. So just shut up and lean on me."

Suddenly the ship seemed very far away.


	5. The Plane Hotel

A/N - Thanks for the marvelous reviews. You guys keep me rockin'. For those of you who don't like the Charles/Jean response, if they were back at the mansion within an hour, then all the angst and drama in the desert between Jubilee and Scott would be down the toilet. Half of the story was wrapped around that struggle. And with Cerebro, Xavier would have found them within just a short while. I couldn't save them too early now, could I?

(PS….I'm thinking Jubilee is about 17, give or take a couple.)

Commercial over, now back to the story!

Chapter 5

"We're here. But you have to be very, very careful. The glass is very jagged."

"Yeah, I know. I feel every cut and scrape from flying through there initially. Now aren't you glad you had your harness on?"

Scott got down on two hands and one knee, letting his broken leg drag behind him. He chose the placement of his hands with care crawling through the busted window and razor-sharp shards. Since he couldn't see, he worried about accidentally puncturing the aircast.

"Wait Scott."

Jubilee noticed how carefully Scott was trying to get his injured leg through the knife-edged glass. She was right behind him and gingerly shifted his leg over a few inches. "If you pull your leg straight in, you'll miss all the sharp pieces."

"Thanks Jube."

He disappeared with a thud. "Jubilee, thanks for telling me about that last step."

"Shit! I'm sorry Scott. I was worried about you hitting your leg. Are you ok?"

"Ok as in 'ok over all'? Or ok as in 'ok from the fall'?"

"From your sarcasm, you sound fine to me. Just stay still until I get inside and I'll show you the pipes that I thought would make a good crutch."

The chill had already started to settle into the desert as then made their way to the ship and Scott immediately noticed the warmth inside. "Jube, why don't we stay here tonight? It's plenty warm."

"Because it gets way too hot during the day."

"Well, then we stay the night, rest up and can make that long journey in the daylight first thing before it gets too hot."

"Great idea. That's why you're the bossman. Now come over here, this is the pipe that I thought would make a good crutch. Gimme your hand." She took hold of Scott's hand and guided him to where she thought the cut should be made. "You can feel where I tried working on it."

Keeping his eyes closed, he undid the bandages, placed his hands near the spot, and with the precision of a diamond cutter, sliced through the first section of pipe. He felt his way to the other side of the T junction and made the second slice. The part that would fit under his arm was complete, but he still had to cut through the main section.

He stood up, "Jube, take a rough measure from the floor to here," he said as he pointed to where the crutch should come up to on him. "Can you judge where on the pipe that should come to?"

"Yeah. Gimme your hand again."

He finished the job and tried the jerry-rigged pipe on for size, "This is perfect. Good choice. Where're my bandages?"

After handing him the wraps for his eyes, she guided him to a chair. "Sit here while I go do some more rummaging in the back."

He listened to her fiddle about, sometimes being able to tell what she was doing, other times completely lost.

"Do you want to eat sitting up or on your bed?"

"Huh?"

"I put some blankets on the floor for you. I also heated up some of our food packs. You know the ones that all you have to do is break a seal and the chemical reaction heats up the food inside?"

"I'll stay here for now."

"So, what do you want, the stew or the ala king?"

"Whatever. By the way, thanks."

"For what?" Jubilee sounded genuinely surprised.

"For taking care of me like this. I couldn't survive on my own. Not in this condition."

"Scott, believe it or not, I couldn't survive without you either. Distressing about you took the worry about myself away from me. If I were alone, I probably would have curled up and given in."

They sat in silence for a while, eating out of the food packs.

Scott broke the silence first, "How much food and water do we have?"

"Well, I think there is supposed to be enough here for 4 days. But in this heat, I think we may go through the water faster."

"Did you see any signs of a watersource outside?"

She shook her head forgetting he couldn't see.

"Jube?"

"Oh, sorry. No. There are some plants outside. In fact one of the big cacti bit me."

"A saguaro? The really big ones?"

"Uh huh."

"Good, that's a source of water. How many were there out there?"

"A few, but in the opposite direction we're going tomorrow."

There was more silence. Then he spoke again. "I think we can stretch our supplies easily enough to make it a week. Maybe even longer."

"Don't you think the others will come for us sooner?"

"I'm hoping they find us tomorrow morning! But, I'm thinking how long we can last before they do find us. Uh, Jube, can you show me my bed now. I'm tired."

She helped him out of the chair and onto the bed of blankets she arranged for him. His weakness scared her. She could not remember ever seeing the powerful leader of the X-Men so frail and incapacitated. She looked down at him as his breathing slowed and deepened. He was asleep already. She sat on her bed and opened her laptop. She looked at her list. She added 'travel to shelter'. Then thought _'How'? Suppose Cyc can't walk the distance? How else can I get him there? I can't carry him. Drag him on a litter? What would I make a litter out of that would be fairly easy to drag over this terrain? Not a blanket. A sled would work, too bad I don't' have one. Maybe Scott can cut a slice off the plane that would slide over the sand and rocks. I need to carry all of our water and food with us. I'll ask him in the morning.'_

She closed her laptop and lay down, locking her fingers behind her head. She didn't think sleep would come quickly, but before the thought finished, she was deep in slumber.

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"I have had enough of this waiting. I'm going to look for Jubilee and Cyclops," bellowed Logan.

"If you take the Black Bird, you will be leaving us without transport out there. Remember, the Professor has the other plane and that's only a two-seater."

Glaring at Hank because he knew he was right, he said, "Then I'll take the cycle. The way Cyc's got it souped up, I'll still beat you out there, anyway."

Storm entered the room, "Logan, the Professor is flying in tomorrow morning. With the help of Cerebro, we should be able to get a much better fix on their location. Please wait. I know we'll need your help when we find them."

Wolverine looked around the war room. In the few hours since they received the first hint of trouble, everyone but Jean and Charles had returned. "Why can't Xavier fly back here tonight? The meetin's over, ain't it?"

Dr. McCoy answered, "Generally speaking it is. But several of the delegates want to meet with him for an hour or so in the morning to finalize a few details on the charter that they drafted."

Rogue stood up and headed towards the door, "Wolverine, Ah'm going to set up the Black Bird as if we are going to have two injured people on board. Wanna help?"

"Go ahead Logan. It'll keep you busy," urged Storm.

Begrudgingly he left.

Orora turned to Hank. "Are you holding something back?"

"I didn't want to argue with Logan. But I fear that our friends are probably already gone. The emergency beacon on a ship should put out a signal when the plane goes down. It is supposed to survive pretty horrific crashes. If we can't receive a signal because it is damaged, then I don't think they survived."

"But didn't Jean say she heard from Scott?"

"She did. But that could have been in the last second of his life. Remember, she also said it was followed by a deep unending blackness."

"What could have happened to bring down their plane?"

Beast shrugged.

"How close have you pinpointed their location?"

"It's still a very wide area. But I've narrowed it down to New Mexico."

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"Jean, have you tried contacting Scott?"

"Yes. But I get nothing. I don't know if it's the distance, if he's unconscious or…" she hesitated, "…or if he's dead."

"Damn those Umbraga delegates. They are the last of the holdouts. What is so important that they couldn't have signed it tonight."

Jean looked at her mentor. She never heard Charles speak out like that before. But she knew under his façade he was dying to leave and get back to base. She knew deep down he would love to throw all this to the wind in order to get to Scott and Jubilee. But the lives of so many people, mutant and humans alike rested on this one conference. It took Xavier over a year to get these people here. He had to stay.

"Professor, I have faith that you will be able to locate them with Cerebro and we will get to them on time."

"I hope so, Jean. I surely hope so."

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Jubilee was up before Scott and walked quietly around so as not to wake him. She was specifically looking for something that she could use as a litter. Even if Scott walks the distance, she still had to carry all the food, water and supplies. Dragging it would be a whole lot easier. And it would allow Scott a last minute ride should he find that he is unable to finish the walk.

She went outside and started along the scarred earth that the crash created. There was plenty of debris in this area, maybe something would make a good makeshift sled. She had not gone 100 feet when she saw something rose-colored glint in the sunlight. "Scott's glasses!" she screeched with delight. When she turned to look back at the ship, then beyond where she first found him, she sobered up. "Oh my God, he must have been catapulted through the windshield all the way from back here. I'm surprised he has only the one broken leg." She snorted softly, "I'm surprised he survived!"

She ran back to the ship with his glasses held tight in her hands, "Scott, Scott, guess what I found!"

The smile melted from her face when he didn't move. She knelt down beside him, feeling his forehead. _'He's got a fever.'_ Gently she shook him, "Scott, wake up."


	6. Desert Storm

Chapter 6

He waved his arm at her and slurred, "Ok, ok. I'm awake."

"Hey, I got something for you, hold out your hand."

He extended his opened palm to her and she placed his glasses in there.

Enclosing his fingers around them, he smiled weakly, "Great. Thanks Jube. Where did you find them?"

"Just about a million yards in the opposite direction from where I found you."

"Well, at least I'm not blind anymore, just broken and sick."

She helped him into a sitting position, "Don't talk like that Scott. Maybe there are antibiotics in the first aid kit. Would you know if you saw any?"

He nodded as he unwrapped his eyes. Putting on his glasses, he looked around, "That's better. Now Jube, all you have to do is perform surgery to pin my leg and remove the bullet, and I'll be all set."

She just smiled at his weak attempt at humor. Grabbing the first aid kit on the floor next to them, she opened it up. "Anything good to eat in here?"

He shuffled around the contents of the kit, "Aspirin, anti-acids, vitamins…nothing prescription Jube. No antibiotics."

"Well there's aspirin for the pain. It's not much, but could take the edge off."

Looking down at the red stained bandage, "I don't think I should take any."

"Why not!"

"I'm still bleeding. Aspirin makes bleeding worse. Stops the blood from clotting. I can't risk it out here."

"Well, at least keep your strength up." She jumped up and rummaged around for another food pack. She followed the directions and handed the pack to Scott, "You have to wait 5 minutes, then the scrambled eggs will be ready. Eat."

"What about you?"

"I'm going out to see if there is something that would make a suitable sled for me to pile the supplies on. I can't carry it all and you can't carry anything but yourself." She held back saying that it might also be for him.

"Be careful. I worry about you when you leave."

"Cyclops, I'll be fine, just worry about yourself."

After she left, he got the first good look at the demolished ship and the window he flew through during the crash. Looking beyond the broken glass he saw her coat in the distance. Astonished, he said, "Gee, I can't believe I survived."

He looked down at himself, first at the broken leg and admired how well she put the boot on. But he was more concerned about the wound in his side. The bandages were soaked through. He slowly rolled himself off the floor and into a standing position. Grabbing the first aid kid, he sat down on the closest chair and started to remove his dressing.

The injury was an angry red, and he knew there was an infection brewing. He rebandaged himself with fresh gauze and wrap, then rummaged once again through the kit for antibiotics. He was just as disappointed after the second search and decided to bring this up next time they all meet. Maybe have a more inclusive first aid kit on each of the vehicles. A smile crept across his face, _'It must be a good sign that I'm thinking so far ahead.' _He fingered the aspirin bottle toying seriously with taking some even with the risks. But he shook his head and put them back. It would be too much on Jubilee if he started bleeding profusely. He'll just have to deal with the pain.

After eating, he planned to get up and put the necessary supplies all in one place for Jubilee. But his eyelids became very heavy and he drifted off into a fitful sleep instead.

He dreamt of fighting off a team of mutants but his powers were gone. As he fought, each of the strange, unknown faces he was combating changed into one of the X-Men. His fellow teammates, his friends. But they were attacking him. Trying to kill him. As they swarmed over him, he flailed against their attacks…

"Scott? You ok?"

Cyclops awoke as Jubilee carefully climbed in through the window.

"You were swinging your arms wildly and seemed distressed. Nightmare?"

He nodded.

"Hey, I found a long piece of hard plastic. Lightweight. It'll make a perfect sled. Give me a few minutes to load the stuff onto it, then we'll head for the rocks."

"I can help…"

"Sit. Stay!" she commanded. "I want you as rested as possible. You have a long walk ahead of you."

"Yes, Sir," and he saluted her.

Within minutes, she had the sled loaded and was helping Scott climb outside. She took advantage of the seatbelts in the plane and rigged up a harness to pull the sled behind her. This freed up her hands to help Scott if he needed it. "You ready, Cyc?"

Leaning on his crutch, he nodded, "Lead on."

Scott had trouble early on as the open-ended pipe dug fairly deep into the soft sand in spots. They remedied the situation by stuffing the pipe with whatever they could, closing off the end, then capping it with a rag. It was slow going since he really wasn't able to walk, just hop, but thankfully the crutch worked fine now.

Her sled worked remarkably well. It was light and slid easily over the rough surface. Only periodically did she have to go back and pick up items that fell out.

At the halfway point, she suggested that they sit and rest. "The water in the canteen that sat outside all night is still pretty cool. Why not take a sip?"

Scott didn't refuse. Even though the day was young, it was already proving to be a scorcher.

Jubilee could see that Scott was struggling, but she didn't want to ask how he was doing. She didn't want to draw his attention to his injuries if she didn't have to. Besides, she didn't want to hear him say he was having problems. She tried to keep upbeat and forward. She glanced at their destination; it still looked so far away. "I think we should be there in less than an hour. Ready?"

Without saying anything, he stood up. He wavered a moment then started his now familiar hitch-hop gait.

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The X-men were in the Black Bird already en route to New Mexico. Hank had narrowed down the location to the Southwest. Xavier told them to start out since it would still take several hours to get there. By the time they reached the general vicinity, the Professor would be back at the mansion extracting the information from Cerebro.

"Has the Professor gotten home yet?" growled Wolverine.

"He's landing now, my friend. I would think that we should have the information we need within a few minutes."

As the crew listened in silence waiting for Charles to get back to them, Rogue turned to Remy, "Hey, Swamp-rat. You been quiet. Haven't said a word the entire flight."

"Gambit just worried, t'all."

"Hey, Ah know, we'll all find 'em safe and sound. Probly roastin' marshmallows over an open fire, just awaitin' for us t'show up."

The light chatter in the Black Bird plunged into silence as Charles' voice came across the airwaves, "Hank, I was able to get the area narrowed down to within a 50 mile radius. I see them in the middle of a desert. The feedback I received from Cyclops's essence is significantly weaker than it should be. But, I feel that they are both still alive."

"That is good news, Professor. I have set the coordinates into the autopilot, we should be there in a little over an hour."

"Good luck, Hank, and keep me informed."

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"C'mon Scott. It's not much further. Do you want to ride in the sled?"

He shook his head, leaning into the wind that had picked up.

Jubilee looked towards the west where a windstorm was brewing. Sand, dirt and tumbleweeds swirled around them, making travel harder than it already was. "Just our luck. If the wind blows any harder, we aren't going to be able to see where we're going. We could end up walking right past the cavern."

She turned around suddenly at the sound of a food packet flying off the litter. She dropped the rope and ran after it. After capturing the renegade food, and depositing it back where it belonged, she realized that as the wind picked up she was going to lose more items.

"Scott, I know you want to walk, but we're going to lose our supplies in the wind. How about you sitting on them to keep 'em from flying away?"

He knew all too well that she won't be able to pull his weight even on a light-weight plastic sled, "Stop a minute." He fell on his good knee beside the supplies and pulled out a blanket. It flapped viciously in the wind as he unfolded it. Ripping each corner he fed it through holes he burned into the plastic and tied it on. When finished, their supplies were secured.

He groaned as he got up off his knee, "There try that."

"That was not the idea, Scott. I wanted you to rest, while I pulled you the rest of the way."

His throat scratchy from the dust, he yelled into the wind, "Jube, there is no way you can pull this thing with my dead weight. You just can't. You aren't that strong. Now let's get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner we get out of this mess."

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"We're here."

Scott could barely see a foot in front of him from the storm. "You sure?"

"Actually, no."

He looked at her, "What do you mean, no?"

"Hey look Scott, you see how bad this storm is. I can't see any further than you can. Without a compass, once the rock formation got lost in the visibility I couldn't tell any more than you could if we were walking a straight line. I'm sorry. But that's the fact. Now if you want to sit here a minute while I go find the crevice, I can tell you exactly where to blast the entrance."

Scott was grateful for a chance to sit, even in the midst of sand storm.

Jubilee walked the base of the rock structure using her hand to find the crack in the limited visibility. Her stomach felt like a net full of butterflies worrying if this is the right place or not. She didn't know what they would do if this was the wrong outcropping. Her despair was mounting with each unsuccessful step. She knew she had gone almost the entire circumference without finding what she wanted. Scott would be just around the next bend, what would she tell him? That's when her fingers slipped into the two inch crack that lead up to a watermelon sized window.

"Yippee! I found it."

Scott appeared through the swirling dirt within a minute. A smirk broke through his stern face, "Took you long enough. Won't it have been easier if you went in this direction first? You're less than ten feet away from where you dumped me."

Hollering to be heard above the wind, "Ok, ok. Point taken. Now if you'd like to get out of this mess, how about blowing a hole just about here?" She pointed to an area just to the right of the crack.

He hobbled back several yards. "Stand clear, Jube."

A bright flash of red laser easily blasted a hole in the precise location indicated by Jubilee. She grabbed the ropes of the sled and went into the cave. It was just as perfect as it looked from above. Aside from the small amount of sand trickling in from the window, they were well protected from the environment. It was even several degrees cooler inside and no wind. She watched Scott hobble into the room and she quickly set out blankets for him to lie on. That was her first priority. The next was light. She had remembered a lantern after they had been walking only 10 minutes. She told Scott to continue on while she ran back for it. She still caught up to him easily upon returning with the light.

After it was lit, she looked over at her friend. He was sitting on the blanket, leaning against the wall. He looked terrible. There seemed to be no living energy emanating from his body. It didn't help that he was covered with a layer of dust from the storm either. "Are you still awake?"

He nodded.

She took a piece of cloth and dampened it. Kneeling down beside him, she wiped his face. He startled at the touch, "That's a waste of precious water."

"There's not that much on this cloth to make a difference between life and death, Scott. Now let me at least wipe your face clean. Close your eyes, I'm taking your glasses off."

Too weak to object, he rested his head back against the wall. He enjoyed the cool moist fabric across his face.


	7. The Plane!

Chapter 7

"Professor, bad news. A sand storm has grounded us. To prevent damage to the Black Bird's engines we have landed on the outskirts of the squall to wait it out. It should only be a couple of hours at most."

Charles was not pleased with Hank's report and he knew they weren't either. It seemed the obstacles kept mounting, preventing them from reaching their friends. "Thank you, Beast. Let me know when the weather's cleared."

Jean looked to Xavier, noticing his clenched jaw. She placed her hand on his shoulder, "Professor, let's head out there. The storm should be over by the time we get there and we can have two planes searching for them. Besides, being that close, you or I could get a fix on them quickly."

"I had been thinking that, Jean. But the rest of the X-men are very capable of finding them in short order. I want to be here to prepare the sick room with what ever equipment they may need. We'll head out if they can't find them."

"But look at the travel time we lose if we don't go now. If we wait until they have trouble, it will be several hours before we get there."

Charles rested a hand on top of Jean's, "Have faith in your teammates. They will find Scott and Jubilee. Those two will be back here before you know it."

She dropped her head, wringing her hands, "I just feel so helpless."

"I do too. But suppose we are halfway out there and they need Cerebro's help? Besides your presence here will be the most important thing to Scott when he arrives. Who knows, they both may end up just waltzing in with no more than skinned knees. The X-Men will find them. That I am sure."

"Thank you, Charles," She sighed, then kissed him on the cheek. Although he hid it well, she could still sense his own inner turmoil at not being at the scene looking for them. If he could walk, she knew he would be pacing around his office.

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"Let me look at your wound."

"It's fine. I changed the bandage this morning just before we left."

"Well that was before we went through the dust storm from hell. I want to make sure it's still clean. And if you don't let me check it now, I'll just wait until you fall asleep. Which will probably be in a couple of minutes, anyway."

He looked at her then rolled onto his good side so that she could check him.

She cut away the wrap and saw the distinct lineation between his dirt encrusted skin and what was protected by the bandage. The gauze stuck to the wound and he winced as she gently tugged it off. Although it provided a lot of protection against the dust and dirt, the bandage was not completely effective.

"Don't complain about the use of water. I need some to clean your wound, it got dirty."

She worried when he didn't reply, "Did you hear me?"

"Yeah. I'm not going to complain."

The look of the wound nauseated her, but she held it back because this needed to be done. As she cleansed the area, she could feel the fevered heat coming off his body. He was hot to the touch even though the cave was comfortably cool. She fought back the sourness building in her mouth as she wrapped him in a clean dressing.

When finished, she offered him water. He took several gulps then signaled he was done.

"You hungry?"

"Uh, uh. I just want to rest for now."

She put her blankets down next to him and sat. There was nothing she could do at the moment until the dust settled outside. A tear rolled down her cheek as a mantle of hopelessness began to envelop her. Each passing hour saw his condition deteriorate and she wasn't sure if the others would make it there in time for him.

When the storm clears, she plans on going back to the ship to work on the radio. If they had been in uniform, she would have had a communicator with her. But the only link with the outside was the busted radio in the plane. She perked up a bit when she remembered that sometimes a uniform was kept in the aircraft. Maybe a communicator was with it. She stared out at the gale willing it to end so that she could go back and look for any form of communication.

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She awoke with a start. _'What time is it?'_ She looked through the opening and to her relief the storm had passed. But from the location of the sun, it was already late afternoon. If she was going to take advantage of the light, she needed to get back to the plane now. She turned to Scott to tell him that she was leaving and her heart skipped a beat. He was so still she was sure he had died.

She placed a shaky hand on his neck to check for a pulse. Thank goodness, he was still with her. There was one, albeit weak. She shook him gently, "Scott? Scott?"

When he didn't respond, she shook him harder, "SCOTT!"

Unable to revive him, she spoke to him anyway, "Don't worry Cyc, I'm gonna get us out of here. You just hang on. Do you hear me. You hang on dammit."

And she ran from the cave towards the ship.

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As Jubilee reached the half-way point, she slowed down then stopped. Nothing looked the same. The storm had altered the look of the surrounding area enough for her to not recognize it.

She looked back at the cave and made a mental picture of the new landscape. She wanted to make sure she could find Scott again. She studied the land ahead of her trying hard to decipher the changes. She had to go on. She knew she had to. And now with the scenery different, she couldn't afford to let it get dark. Knowing how late it was she took off at a jog again.

_'ok…..it didn't take me this long the last time I came from the cave. Did I overshoot it again?'_

She turned around to look at how far away the rock formation was. It seemed further than she remembered. A chill of anxiety crept up her spine. Where was the plane? Her eyes drifted over to the left a little and came to rest on a fallen cactus.

"It's the saguaro that bit me!" And she ran over to it. She remembered this one because it had a funny little kink near the top. She stood where she was the first time she came across this plant and looked back. _'Great! There's the rock that Cyc sat near. That means the plane must be over there somewhere.'_

She turned to the left expecting to see the aircraft, but confusion hit her when she couldn't find it. Walking in the direction where it was supposed to be, she wondered what could have happened to it. Were the other X-Men here? Did they take it back already without looking for them? She stopped and stared at the new formation where the ship should have been, and slowly she saw through the mound, a shape. The shape of the plane.

"Oh NO! The storm completely covered it up." She ran over looking for something, anything recognizable. When she saw an indentation in the sand, she stared digging.

"Ouch! Dammit. Found the window."

She dug her way back into the cockpit area which was now pitch black from the lack of sunshine getting in. _'Oh, man, I should have brought a flashlight.'_ She shot a few fireworks into the air to illuminate the interior.

_'I'm never going to find a communicator in this darkness. I'm not sure I can even find another flashlight.'_ Before she continued on, she sat down. _'Where would the other flashlights be located? I bet the cabinet next to the door and maybe in the supply cubby in the rear .' _She threw a few more sparks into the air so that she could find her way to the door first.

The light disappeared as she fumbled for the cabinet handle. When she found and opened it, she tossed more sparkles and found a flashlight sitting on the shelf.

She flipped it on, "…and then there was light."

Sweeping it from side to side, she found every nook and cranny that could hide an extra radio. All she found of use were extra bandages and another lantern. She gathered that up and headed back to the front. _'Shit, it's already dark outside'_ she thought as she looked out the window.

After exiting, she held up the lantern and was relieved to see her footprints periodically in some places. She looked up at the night sky, the stars were brilliant, something she hadn't notice the night before. She shot a large bolt of fireworks to illuminate the desert, and after getting her bearings she jogged off.

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"Get this bird up in the air already Gumbo!"

"Hey. We not gonna do dem any good if we crash from clogged engines. Let Gambit do a t'orough checkup."

Logan snarled, "Well get a move on already. We only have about an hour of daylight left."

Hank looked up from his controls, "Wolverine, have no fear, we can find them even at night. Our thermal scan will pick up the body heat of any living creature."

"Yeah, if they're still alive by the time we find 'em!"

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Jubilee entered the cave and a knot instantly tied her stomach. She didn't think it could happen but Scott looked even worst. Once again she searched for a pulse. Although more difficult to find, it was still there.

"Scott? Scott? Please wake up. Just for a moment so that I know you're still with me."

She hung her head at the lack of reaction, tears leaving streaks on her dust coated face. She was sure that the others would find them, but now felt that that it would be too late. Even if they walk in the entrance right now, she wasn't sure he could be saved.

She was startled when a cold clammy hand nudged hers. He had awoken. "Scott."

His voice was no more than a whisper, "Anything yet?"

"No. I looked for another communicator on the plane but couldn't find any. The radio's shot." He smiled weakly knowing she didn't realize that what she said was literally the truth.

She continued, "That sand storm made a mess outside. It changed the landscape a lot. Almost got lost. I didn't even recognize the plane at first. It's all covered up."

He turned his head more towards her and croaked, "Covered up?"

It hit her like a brick. "They can't see it from the air! I've got to go back and brush off as much dirt as I can!"

"It's dark. Don't go. You'll get lost."

"I have to Scott. How else will they know where we are?"

"Stay with me. I don't want to be left alone." Then in a whisper she couldn't hear, "I don't want to die alone."


	8. Fireworks

Chapter 8

Jubilee plopped down on her blanket next to him and held his hand. She didn't know what else to do. He was right. It was too dark to return to the plane tonight to clear it off.

She stroked Scott hand while studying his face. The soft light from the lantern carved shadows on his sweat glistened features. He had such a classically handsome face. Although she knew he was married, she had always longed for him from afar. What girl won't? Strong, handsome and a leader. But now as she sat there, she began to feel more. She knew there was a name for this, the Florence Nightingale syndrome, she believed. But it didn't help her contain the feeling. Her subconscious told her she had a school girl's crush on him, which she denied. But now…now it was growing into real love. She convinced herself of this. Her tear stained face didn't show the fresh ones trickling down. He was married and in love with Jean. Jubilee's love for him would never go anywhere. Then she choked back the flood that was starting. He may not even make it back for Jean. He could very well die here in her arms.

Should she confess her love for him before he died?

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"Now, when are you gonna get this bird in the air, Cajun?"

In answer to Logan's demand, Gambit hit a switch and sent the Black Bird soaring skyward. "Hold on, Remy gonna punch it."

"I think our best bet is to start in the center of the search area. That has the highest percent chance of finding them. Then proceed on a circular pattern outward," Hank offered the pilot.

"Gambit agree, mon ami."

Silence monopolized the inside of the jet as the endless search continued past dusk. Rogue looked to the blue doctor, "Hank, you sure we'all can pick them up in the dark?"

"Well, yes, if they are alive and out in the open. If they are trapped inside the plane, the infrared radar would show us the outline of the aircraft. Then we would have to land and do a manual search of the it. But Logan should be able to tell us immediately if they are around." Hank nodded towards the gruff man.

"See anyt'ing yet, Beast?"

"Not yet, Gambit. But I'm not giving up hope."

"Over there!"

"Where, Logan? Gambit don't see anyt'ing."

"Listen, Gumbo. I don't hallucinate. I just saw what looked like a flare over there." Wolverine growled and pointed to a distant location against the night sky.

"Well, since we have not'ing else to go on. Gambil'll head in dat direction."

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Scott's breathing was getting shallow and raspy. She knew he wasn't going to make it through the night. She just squeezed his hand, willing her life energy to flow into him.

"Scott. Please don't die. I…I…," she choked on the words.

He hadn't been awake in a couple of hours now and although she knew sleep was the one thing he needed most, she was afraid it was a slumber he would never return from. She sobbed softly. She felt as helpless now as when they first crashed two days ago, before she developed hope, before she grew conviction, before she aimed for a goal and found a means to get there. But with Scott almost gone, it all evaporated like the water in a desert. Once again she turned into that helpless teenage girl.

"Scott, I don't know if you can hear me or not. But I must tell you. I must confess…"

She stopped suddenly. Engines. Did she hear a plane in the distance? She dropped his hand and ran outside into the cold night, the stars blazing above. She knew she heard something, but she didn't know what. Where did it go? How could she signal them?

"DUH!" She screamed, hitting herself in the head, "I'm a walking sparkler. A pyrotechnic show of fireworks that'll light up the sky."

She stood away from the cave, raised her arms and started sending flares of colorful lights shooting skyward. "A regular 4th of July, Jubilee. They gotta see this," she said to herself.

She stopped and waited to see if she could hear them. "Come back! Come back!"

Stomping her foot, she screamed, "NO!" and the tears started once again. When no response came after another burst of spectacular lights, she reluctantly turned and trudged back into the cave.

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"There! There!"

"Where, Beast. Gambit need more info dan dat."

"Sorry Remy. Hover here. Yes, I do believe it is."

"What already Beast?" yelled Logan.

"I believe we have found their plane. Set it down right here. We should be just a few yards away."

Wolverine just about tore open the door hatch and ran in the direction Hank told him the plane sat.

He called back to the others, "It's here, but they aren't."

Landing softly beside him, Rogue asked, "Are ya sure?"

"Yeah. I would've smelled 'em even if they was dead. They're not here."

Coming up behind them, Hank stated, "I didn't pick them up on the thermal scan anywhere around here. Maybe they were found and taken to a shelter."

"Den, what we do? Take da Bird back up or search here on da ground?" Remy asked

Hank looked over at a brilliant display of fireworks, "I believe that question has just been answered, Gambit."

"Ever'body back in Black Bird. Hurry. Gambit fly us over dere."

"Heck no. That'll take too long, Ah'm flying there mahself." Rogue said.

Storm added "I'll join you."

"Hey Storm, how 'bout givin' your ol' buddy a lift?"

Ororo smiled, "Sure thing, Logan."

Rogue looked to Remy, "What 'bout you, Swamp Rat, wanna lift?"

"Wit' you, Chere, Remy go anywhere."

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Jubilee was kneeling next to Scott, holding his hand. She was crying freely now, rocking softly back and forth. She didn't hear her 'family' enter the cave behind her.

"Jubilee!"

Logan's was the first voice that she heard. She turned her head, tears streaming down her face, "He doesn't have a pulse.

Beast immediately knelt down beside the wounded man, "She's right, I can't feel one."

"He's alive, I can smell it."

Hank was pulling a stethoscope from his pack even before Wolverine's words reached his ears. He listened intently, "There is a heartbeat. Weak, thready, but there. We need to get him to the Black Bird at once…"

"I'll get it. That'll be the fastest way." Rogue ran out of the cave and immediately took flight.

Holding tightly to Jubilee, Logan patted her lightly on the back. "How're you doin' darlin'? Are you hurt anywhere?"

She just shook her head in between sobs.

"Don't worry about Cyclops. We got to him in time. He'll be alright. It takes more than a plane crash to kill that ornery cuss," he said softly in her ear.

_'I wish I believed what I just told her.'_

Dust and dirt swirled around the entrance to the cave as the jet landed just outside. Within seconds Rogue showed up with a stretcher. "The faster we get Cyc inside and hooked up, the faster we can get him back home."

"Do y'all t'ink we should head to da nearest hospital instead of the long flight back?"

Logan looked at Remy, "No hospital'll take a mutant. And the second a doc opens his eyes to look at them, he'll get fried. There'll be no mistakin' Cyc's a mutant."

Hank looked to the pilot, "This time I happen to agree with Logan. We have superb equipment aboard the aircraft that should keep him alive until we get back to the school. But I suggest we stop discussing the matter and get him on board."

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Logan came forward from the sickbay area and was assaulted with, "How're they doing?"

He looked to Rogue, Storm and Gambit, "Jube's a lil scratched up, dehydrated, and a bit shell shocked, but she'll be ok. Cyclop's not doing so hot."

They all saw he had more to say and waited. He sat down and took a deep breath, "They were shot down."

A unison exclamation of, "WHAT!" hit him.

"That's what Cyc told Jubi. She said that was probably true because there was a strange sound of several things hitting the plane just before it went out of control. And Cyclops does have a bullet in him."

"Who would shoot them down?" Storm said incredulously.

"We have lots of enemies, Darlin'. It could be anyone. What I want to know is how'd someone know they were going to be there at that time?"

Hanks voice crackled over the intercom, "How much longer, Gambit?"

"Remy got the petal to da metal, Beast. Maybe we get dere, 'bout half an hour."

"If we don't get home soon, I fear we will lose Scott."


	9. Not out of the woods

A/N - The muze is sensitive and needs encouragement to continue.

He was moving, that he was sure of. It was verified when he opened his eyes and saw ceiling lights flash by. The voices he heard were distant and faint, familiar but foreign at the same time. He couldn't feel his body, but more like disjointed from it. Floating above it. As the feeling intensified, the motion, the voices and the lights grew fainter. Scott wondered if this was the sensation that Rogue and Storm felt as they defied gravity and flew above the clouds. He felt so light, so free. He was leaving his worries behind, the pain behind, the turmoil behind.

Then as if someone turned the stereo on full blast, a voice filled his head. "Scott! Scott, come back. Don't leave me. I love you, Cyclops."

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In the sick room, Jean sat next to her husband, clenching his hand so intensely that if to let go would mean that his life would slip through her fingers. For one brief moment while being transported through the corridor, she thought he was with her. But then she could feel him slip away. Several times she needed to use her powers to pull him back from beyond the void. Her hand continued its death grip as she heard Hank and Xavier whispering behind her.

"Professor, it is a catch 22. The bullet is causing the raging infection. However the infection is preventing us from removing it. He has septicemia. Although we are pumping the meds into him at the maximum dose, he still does not seem to be responding. I fear it could be one of those antibiotic resistant strains."

Charles looked over at the man he regarded like a son. "But he is young and strong. He can beat this."

"Even the strongest of men succumb to infections of the blood, Charles."

Xavier looked at Beast. No words came to mind. No ideas to offer. He looked away, "The others are waiting in the War Room for word on his condition. I need to go talk to them."

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A pall fell over the room like a ceiling collapsing when Xavier entered. He updated everyone on their leader's status.

After a long period of silence, a growl was heard, "Well, I want t'know who did this t'them."

"We all do, Wolverine." The Professor looked at the faces of all present, "Any ideas?"

There was a pause for thought, then Storm spoke first, "Would Magneto stoop so low as to plan an ambush?"

Rogue added, "Ah was thinking Sinister mahself. He hates all of us. Ah think he'd do anything to get rid of the X-Men. Ah just don't see Magneto settin' up an ambush. He'd kill Scott in a fair fight but he's no back shooter."

"Yeah, Sinister, he a bad one. But Remy t'ink he would use mutant powers to bring down Clop's plane. Besides, won't he like to take out more dan just two? If Gambit recall right, the Morlocks have a personal fight wit' Scott. Ya know dat Calipso gal got the hots for him. Remy bet da house it was dem."

"Gumbo, you're first thoughts on Sinister were dead on, but it goes for the Morlocks too. If they were goin' t'attack anyone they'd use mu'ant powers to bring the plane down. Me? I think it's the Friends Of Humanity. They don't give a damn whose life's at stake as long as they get rid of mu'ants. And they're human. They'd need to resort to guns."

Charles reviewed each suggestion carefully, "Everyone's idea has merit. I would like to search the records for any of our enemies that have a particular vendetta against Cyclops.'

"Maybe it doesn't have to do with Cyclops so much as it does with Scott."

All those at the table looked to Storm for a clarification.

"Maybe Scott has enemies not associated with the X-Men. Maybe from his past. How many times has he come back from a vacation that had been anything but relaxing? Jean might be able to help us with that."

"Maybe, it has nothing to do with Scott. Do you think Jubilee could have been the target?" All eyes went to the blue furball that just entered the room. "…and I would never put it past our own government from pulling something like this. However if they were going after anyone I personally would suspect it would be Cyclops and not Jubilee."

Charles responded, "You may be right Hank. We all assumed whoever did this was after Cyclops, since he is the team leader. Although I can't see why anyone would want to harm Jubilee, we cannot ignore that possibility. Any change in him?"

"I'm afraid not. His fever is still raging out of control. Jean is sitting with him. If we can just get him stabilized, we can go in and remove the bullet."

There was a subdued silence before Logan snarled, "Ok, so far we have that whoever did this was either after Cyclops, Scott or Jubilee. We suspect it could be Magneto, Sinister, the Morlocks, Friends of Humanity or the gov'nment. I would say we got real far in this discussion! So when are we gonna do some real work and find out who did this?"

Xavier gave it some careful thought. "All had valid ideas for the culprit. I want each of you to go out and play detective. Find out if your suspect is indeed guilty. I will go with Jubilee out to the area where it happened to see what we can find. Storm, I want Beast to stay here with his patient. I believe that Magneto would not attack in this fashion. So, if you can, how about looking into the government possibility?"

"No problem Professor."

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The sick room was crowded with worried faces. McCoy, although miffed that his work to try to save Scott was one continuous interruption, understood their need to be near their fallen leader. He just concentrated harder on his duties. Jean, eyes bloodshot from crying and lack of sleep continued to monitor the ill man. She had drawn his blood each hour to monitor his vital signs since they were pushing the medication higher than the maximum safe dose. She felt that by now his blood was completely replaced by pure antibiotics.

She looked to Hank, "What about Magneto? Do you think he could get the bullet out safely, without surgery?"

"I don't know Jean. All we can do is ask."

"Well, it's worth a try, isn't it? If he does agree to help, it would also eliminate him as a suspect."

"Hon, Ah don't know 'bout y'all, but Ah don't trust that guy." Rogue put in. "But, Ah have an idea."

The others looked at her. "Ah could try t'absorb the infection outa him. Ah've never done somethin' quite like that before, but maybe if Ah just take a little off the top, so to speak. He might be able t'fight what's left on his own."

"Absolutely not, Rogue!" Xavier bellowed. "That will leave us with worrying about you fighting an infection instead of Scott. And that's if it works. If it doesn't work, we could have two very sick, possibly dead people here."

"Ok, Professor. Y'all don't have t'yell. It was just a thought."

Although Rogue gave in to her boss, she still held onto the idea, toying with it, refining it, and possibly planning to implement it.

Charles addressed the others as he started to leave, "I think it best if we all get a good night's sleep and get an early start on our assignments tomorrow."

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The guard looked at the tall, elegant, mocha skinned lady walking down the hall. No, make that floating down the hall. His eyes locked on this ethereal beauty with the white mane flowing down her back. She gave him a warm, mesmerizing smile as she flashed her badge and strolled though the door. He felt like his bones were made of Jell-o and leaned against the wall, "I think I'm in love."

Storm took full advantage of her looks and powers. She worked late into the night at the mansion finding and recreating the perfect government badge. Although the forgery was exceptionally good, any well trained guard should be able to tell if it was a fake. That's where her feminine wiles came in. Although the sentry looked at her badge, his eyes were more focused on her body.

She headed straight for a desktop in a darkened corner. It was early enough in the morning that most workers had not come in yet. She hoped that she could finish before anyone else came into the main computer room. She had about 45 minutes worth of work ahead of her, so she dove right into it.

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"I'm sorry Charles, but my power of magnetism doesn't allow me to break a bullet into such small molecules that it can be removed from the body without harm. By removing it I would do just as much damage as it caused going in."

Charles believed his friend and enemy. He had no reason to lie. And the answer was what he had expected anyway.

Magneto asked, "Do you know who did it?"

"No. But you were not above suspicion."

"Xavier, I would be the first to kill any X-Men that got in my way. But there is no reason why I need to wantonly murder any mutant in cold blood. I'm surprised, Charles. I thought you knew me better than that."

"Magnus, you would suspect me and my men if this happened to you. You know we need to eliminate all possibilities."

"I understand. If there is anything that I can do to help Cyclops please let me know. I will make myself available to you."

The Professor ended the transmission. He knew Magneto was telling the truth. But was also dismayed that he would not be able to help.

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In the early hours of the morning when nothing stirred, Jubilee snuck into the sick room. Hank was hiding in his lab off to the side deep into his work and Jean was ordered to get some sleep. She needed to keep her strength up.

She went up to Scott and looked at his paste-colored face, "If I didn't ask to fly the plane, we won't have been low enough to have gotten shot. So, no matter how you or anyone else looks at this, Scott, it's still my fault." Tears glistened in her eyes. She would never be able to live with his death. Not only did she respect him as a leader and teacher, she was falling for him. Falling in love as if a spell had been sprinkled over her. She sat on the edge of his bed, with his hand in hers; she brought it up to her lips and kissed his knuckles.

Alarms blared in her ears and she catapulted off his bed staring wide-eyed at the screaming monitor. A flatline traveled across the screen.


	10. Such sacrifices

Chapter 10

Gambit thought about just going in and talking to the Morlocks. Maybe acting dumb. Saying he had been out of town. They might just slip up when talking to him. Or he could act like he left the X-Men because of Scott. They already knew there had been words between them.

But he opted for being invisible. It was so much more challenging to a master thief like himself to steal knowledge right from under their noses. He entered the underground tunnels through the one entrance he knew to be the least guarded and stole towards the main area keeping to the shadows. Playing it by ear, he planned on ease-dropping. Since this attack just happened, the hot topic of the day should be about Scott's plane going down. If he struck out he knew he would have to come up with a Plan B.

He heard voices coming from down the tunnel a ways and stopped. He knew they were still far, but he could understand their conversation. He held his breath so that he could catch every word that was said.

The conversation stopped without a hint of the answer he was looking for. He thought to himself, '_Ya knew dat ya won't get what ya wanted on your first try, Remy. If ya did, lookit all da fun ya'd miss out on._' He continued moving stealthily through the tunnel, peering around each bend and carefully crossing intersections. He froze. Although there wasn't any conversation going on, he heard the soft rustle of people moving about. He looked up hoping for a possible route above to get safely closer. But nothing was available. He removed his large duster and stuffed it aside, then crouched very low. There were still some shadows that he could make use of. On all fours, he crept to the edge of the roomy opening.

'_Paydirt!'_ He found Calipso. Now if he could only stay undetected until something was revealed. There was another woman with her, but no one was talking. He didn't want to peer around the bend any more than he already had. He didn't need to be seen. He just sat there and waited. They moved around occasionally but didn't speak. Either the attack was so hush-hush that they didn't talk about it among themselves or they didn't do it.

When his legs started to cramp up from the squatting position, he opted to move away from the uncooperative Morlocks. '_Strike two, Remy.'_ Two strides back he gathered up his coat and found another passage to explore.

He followed it for maybe a quarter of a mile before he heard anything again. This time it was soft footsteps. Very soft footsteps. Luck would have it, he had just passed a small cubby hole and he stole into it. There he waited for whatever mutant would be unlucky enough to pass by.

With the stealth of a cat, he snagged the hapless Morlock, covering his mouth. "Well, well, Leech. You be just da person Remy lookin' for. I have a question to ask you."

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Her trance was broken when Beast yelled, "Jubilee, get the backboard over here NOW!" He ran to Scott's bedside throwing the covers and pillows off the bed. He rolled him onto his side and commanded, "Place it under him. Yeah, like that." When Cyclops was laying flat on the board, Hank punched a button on a complicated looking machine sitting next to the bed. As the beeping increased in tempo, McCoy started CPR compressions. Without looking up he yelled, "Call Jean."

The beeping became one solid wail and the blue figure grabbed two paddles, slathered them with ointment then placed them strategically on Scott's chest. Jubilee screamed when his body shot off the bed at the electrical jolt. "I said, 'CALL JEAN!'" Hank bellowed to the unmoving girl.

Jubilee jumped at the command and ran to the intercom.

With the alarm still blaring, the wailing still continuous, Jubilee felt claustrophobic. The door behind her blew open and Jean ran in. She hesitated but a moment to assess the situation, then ran to the medicine cabinet. Fumbling for a vial, she jabbed in the syringe and withdrew a substantial amount of fluid.

"Stand back, Beast." She plunged the needle into her husband's chest, then standing back, waited as McCoy shocked the patient again. She looked up to Hank, then back to Scott. Waiting. Waiting.

McCoy held the paddles in ready, the unit having already recharged, when the alarm switched to the familiar regular rhythm of a heartbeat. Tension in the room vaporized like water droplets sprinkled on a frying pan.

"What happened?" Jean asked.

"I don't know. I was working in my lab when the alarm sounded. I came out here and Jubilee was already with him. Maybe she knows."

They turned to the white faced girl. "Nothing. I didn't do anything. I was just visiting him when the alarms scared the shit outa me. I didn't do anything. Honest."

"It's ok, Jubilee. I'm not saying you did anything. I was just wondering if something triggered his heart to stop." Turning to Hank, Jean continued, "I think I'll stay here the rest of the night if it's ok with you."

"I don't have a problem. I still have more work to do in my lab. I think it would be wise to have someone here with him at all times."

The red-haired beauty looked at Jubilee, "What were you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep. I just felt like visiting. I'm so worried about him. He didn't seem that bad immediately after the crash and I've just watched him go downhill from there."

"If you still can't sleep, why not keep me company and tell me all about it?"

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"What you want with Leech?" asked the half pint green mutant.

"Relax, Petite. Gambit just needs to talk to you."

He set the diminutive person down. "Calipso. She have the hots for Cyclops, non?"

"I don't know. Leech like Cyclops. He was good to me."

"Ah, mon ami. Remy need to know how Calipso feel 'bout him."

"Why?"

"Gambit has his reasons." He lifted one eyebrow and a small smile cracked his face.

"Oh Leech understand. Cyclops he out of picture."

"Really. Why you say dat?"

"He belongs to the other mutant."

"Dat's it?"

Leech nodded.

"T'ink you could bring Remy to Calipso?"

He brightened up, "Sure. Leech know where she is. Come this way."

The duo retraced Remy's last steps and they entered the room he had spied on just moments ago. Calipso looked surprised, "X-Man?"

"Remy LeBeau at your service."

She nodded to Leech and he disappeared.

"And just what service are you talking about, Mr. LeBeau?"

"You were interested in Cyclops, non?"

"And what business is that of yours?"

"Well, Gambit may be able to help you where Cyclops couldn't."

"Really Mr. LeBeau?"

"Call me Remy." A glint entered his eyes, and the corner of his mouth turned up. "But I must know if you still interested in Cyclops."

Calipso let out with a purr. "Remy is it? Well what do you have to offer?" She slithered up along side him, her hand snaking down his back.

"Why don't you let Gambit show you, Chere," he said as he slid off his coat.

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Charles looked at the pouty teen, "Jubilee, I really do need you to come with me out to New Mexico."

"But why? You'll be with one of the other X-Men. Someone has to fly you out there."

"You know exactly where it occurred. The only way we are going to find out what really happened."

"I'd rather stay here with Scott."


	11. Not again!

Chapter 11

Wolverine entered **Eightball**, the bar and pool hall where many anti-mutant humans hung out. He was going in with the plan of playing a mutant-hater himself. He only hoped that no Friends of Humanity would recognize him. If he's discovered, he would just have to slice the confession out of them. Something he would much prefer anyway.

Walking over to an empty table, he rolled a cue ball the length of the table. It bounced off one bumpered edge, then a second, angled to the 8 ball, hit it and sank it. He slapped a century on the pool table and said, "Anyone interested in Cowboy?"

A scraggly fellow, leaning against the bar looked at the money Logan through on the table, "A hundred bucks? You a shark or sumthin'?"

"Nah, I'm just not into the penny-ante stuff."

He stood there waiting. No one wanted to take him up on his offer.

"I heard this was a pretty good place t' pick up a challenging game. But I guess I heard wrong."

"Don't get your fur up, I'll take you on. Rack 'em up."

The first ball cracked like the sound of a gunshot, followed quickly by the dull thud of another one sinking into a pocket. Wolverine started competitively at first, he didn't want to make anyone suspicious, but as the game progressed, he started losing on purpose. "You're piling up quite a score there, Bubb. Sure these ain't magic balls? This table ain't rigged is it?"

The bartender looked up, "Hey, this here's my joint and none of them tables is fixed. You're just a bad pool player, chum."

Looking at his opponent, he made his move, "You ain't one of them stinkin' mutants are ya? Movin' them balls by just thinkin' it?"

The man swung his stick at Logan, "You callin' me a mu'ant?"

Ducking easily, "Only if it fits."

"I'll show you if it fits or not," and he took another shot at Wolverine.

Keeping his blades sheathed, holding to his non-mutant persona, Logan took to the fight like a trained pitbull. Chairs splintering, tables collapsing, the two brawlers tore the place apart.

The bartender flew over the top of the bar, with bat in hand and went after the two men, "You're wreckin' the joint! You're gonna pay for all the damage you're doing."

The other man screamed, "He called me a stinkin' mu'ant."

The bartender broke them apart, "Well, just tell 'im who ya are, Bart."

"Yeah, well, I guess he's alright. I belong to Friends Of Humanity!"

Logan lightened up, "Yeah? Why dintcha say so in the first place?"

He put his arm around Burt, "Get rid of any good mu'ants lately?"

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Unmoved from her spot beside Cyclops, Jean could have grown roots. Twice more his heart gave out and he needed to be shocked back to life. The first time, she was alone with him and panicked trying to perform the CPR, handle the shock paddles and get the epinephrine. But, one electrical jolt was all he needed, no drugs.

'_Scott, please live. Fight this infection. Fight for me.'_ After speaking to him through her mind, she wrung her shaky hands, forcing the trembling to stop.

The last time his heart ceased, several people were present, including Jubilee who just cried. Once again he came back, and Hank was there to help. Jean sat fixed, holding Scott's fevered hot hand near her lips.

Although Jubilee hadn't said anything to her, Jean felt that something had happened during their 2 days out in the desert. While it was nothing that she would distrust her husband, she could feel emotions stirring inside the girl. But she wasn't going to address that at the moment. There were more important things to worry about. Like just trying to keep him alive.

Charles looked to Jubilee, "Storm is on her way in. She will pilot us out to New Mexico. I want you ready to leave as soon as she arrives."

She wanted to protest but realized the futility of it. All she was good for here was crying. And she knew she could help find the answer that everyone was asking, "Who did this?"

As she followed Xavier out of the room, she looked back. Suppose he dies while she's gone. She won't be able to tell him how she feels. At the least, she needs to say 'good-bye.' She looked at the woman holding his hand and a pang of jealousy beat for a second in her chest. She quickly smothered it though knowing the psychic powers of Jean.

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"We are over Arizona now, Professor. I will intercept their exact last known location in about 3 minutes. At that point I will turn around and fly into New Mexico on what was their scheduled flight path. Jubilee, I will need your help in determining when things started to occur. Do you remember when you took control?"

She was distracted by Charles taking a call before she answered, "Huh? Oh, I'm not sure. I know we were in the air for a while because the autopilot was on. That's when I thought about flying. If a dumb ol' machine could keep it straight and leveled, why couldn't I?"

She looked out the window at the scenery, "I think it's still too mountainous here. When I took her down, it was more like the desert that we crashed in. Here I see a few mesas and plateaus."

"That's good, Jube. Where you actually ended up didn't have either of those."

Charles got off the communicator, "That was Hank. They removed the bullet from Scott."

Jubilee looked surprised, "I didn't know they were operating."

"He stabilized?" Storm asked.

"No, not where they would have liked, but his potassium leveled off and his heartrate became constant. His fever is still very high, but they decided this was a window of opportunity, albeit small. He survived the surgery. But according to Beast, that's pretty much all he did. Survive."

Sounding perkier than she felt, Jubilee said, "Well, that's a little good news, right?"

"We could only hope, Jubilee. Storm, how are we doing?"

"We are almost at the crash site. Jubilee, are you paying attention? When did you take control and drop altitude?" Storm said sounding a little miffed.

"I don't know Storm. From up here it's too hard to see landmarks."

Xavier could sense the tension rising and spoke up, "I think we are too close to the crash site, overshooting the location of the attack. Let's turn around and start over. We don't need to know exactly where Jubilee dropped down. We can establish the lower altitude much earlier. Then maybe she'll be able to see landmarks as she saw them and not from higher up."

Jubilee was uncomfortable in the silence as Storm flew back and started over. She didn't know if the Weather Witch was just quiet or if there was an undercurrent of anger. Did Storm believe that she was the ultimate cause of the crash? Did anyone else?

Her mind started to drift, thinking of where else she could go if indeed all the X-Men blamed her. She knew she couldn't stay at the mansion. Staring out the window, she almost missed a familiar landmark, "THERE! Storm, that butte. I remember seeing that. I was still going straight, but soon after I started a large circle to the left. Scott wanted it large and even."

"Say when, and I will start."

"Ummm. Let's start now. Too sharp. Still too sharp."

Charles suggested, "Would putting Jubilee at the controls help?"

"No way! I don't want to take the controls. Suppose it happens…"

She was interrupted by the now too familiar sound of bullets hitting the plane.

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Rogue floated over the island where she last knew Sinister to inhabit. Although it was a while ago and she knew he and his cronies had left, she hoped to find some sign of where they may have gone to. She drifted high, just close enough to see if there was any movement below and hoping that no one would look up and spot her. After 15 minutes of no movement at all, she descended softly, landing in front of the cave entrance. It was as she remembered it last. Demolished, blackened, abandoned.

Although she was sure no one was around, she still walked stealthily. She noticed the shackles still attached to the wall where her some of her companions were locked. The cage, although heavily damaged was still there. A fond memory actually came to her, when believing it to be a final moment in their lives, Gambit showed how much he really cared. Her heart sank at the reminder that she could never have a real relationship with the Cajun or anyone else for that matter.

She shook her head, and headed for a part of the cave she had not been to before. It was in there that she hoped to find some sort of evidence of their new location. Her senses were on full alert. Every imaginary sound, she heard. Every imaginary vision, she saw. This cave was a torture chamber which had almost eliminated the X-Men from this world. She shook off the waking nightmare and continued through the elaborate maze, checking out living areas, openings large enough to be called rooms.

She had been going through each cavern, corner by hidden corner for over an hour and was just about to give up when her eyes fell upon a refractive stone with a deep forest green vein running through it. It would have meant nothing to the average person. Even the average mutant. But she recognized it. It was something that didn't belong in this region. With evidence in hand, she ran from the cave and onto the new location.

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Jean entered the sick room and her eyes fell onto an empty bed. She called out to anyone who might have heard her, "Where's Scott!"


	12. water

Chapter 12

"Where's Scott?"

Beast came out of his lab when he heard Jean. He looked to the empty bed, the IV leaking life-saving fluid all over the linens. The heart machine had been turned off and the wires hung limp from the safety railing. The sheets tangled about the monitor.

Eyes widened in worry, "I don't know. He was still asleep from the surgery when I last checked on him 45 minutes ago."

"He wasn't in the corridor, I was just there." Jean closed her eyes and concentrated, _'Scott. Scott. Talk to me. Where are you?'_

"I'm not getting anything Beast! How could you lose him, he was so sick?" she shrieked then quickly looked down, "I'm sorry, Hank. That was totally uncalled for. I don't know…"

McCoy put his huge arm around the distraught woman for a moment, "There is no need to apologize. What's more important is to search for him. We'll be lucky if all he does is pop a few stitches."

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Rogue landed about a mile away from her destination. She didn't want to give herself away if she didn't need to. Since it was a town she was infiltrating, she changed to civilian clothes and walked straight in as if she belonged.

Although people were about, it was a quiet place. She got looks from several of the locals who knew she was an outsider. Ducking into the local pub, she sat down at a table. Several men eyed her. "Hey, boys. How're y'all doin'?"

"Hmmm, a Yank."

"Hey, Ah ain't no Yankee. Ah'm a Southern gal, through and through."

"But you're still from the States. That makes you a Yank down under." There was no emotion in his statement. It was just a flat fact.

"Well Sugar, us Southern gals don't like being called that."

"Suit yourself. What are you doing here?" The question although not asked defensively nor conversationally, had a hint of interrogation behind it.

"Well, Ah'm a writer. And Ah'm doing a piece on mutants. Ah just heard there were a bunch of 'em around here…"

"No mutants here."

"Really? Why Ah'll heard there was a whole mess of 'em here."

"Well, well, well! Look what the cat dragged it."

Rogue turned to see who just entered, "Ruckus. Ah should've recognized the stench as soon as y'all entered."

"You're awfully far from home, Sweetcheeks. What're you doing here?" He looked around and continued, "Where are your X-Men buddies? They hiding in ambush?"

"Like you?" She snorted.

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"OH NO!" shrieked Jubilee.

Storm pulled back on the yoke at the same time pushing on the throttle. The plane vaulted up towards the heavens.

The seconds turned to hours, at least for Jubilee as the plane climbed, until finally Ororo spoke, "Is everyone ok?"

The white faced girl simply nodded.

After answering 'yes', Charles asked, "How bad is it Storm?"

"I think we took several hits, but all the instruments are showing normal function. She's handling fine. I believe we found our assailants."

"Did you take a reading on the location?"

"Yes. However I am going to land closer to the wreck of Cyclop's plane then we can take the land vehicle back here. I am not sure where the safe zone would start, so we will have a bit of a ride."

Charles looked over at the silent girl, "Are you ok, Jubilee?"

She looked to her Professor, once again her fingers embedded in the armrest, "I can't believe it happened again." Her eyes started to glisten.

"Jubilee, everything will be alright. We'll go to where the shots were fired and get to the bottom of this."

She cracked a weak smile, "I think I need help prying my hands off the chair."

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Scott awoke in a brain fog. He squinted from the brightness of the room. Barely a whisper departed his lips as he called out for a drink. The high temperature consuming his body left him dehydrated and in need of water. Seeing no one around, and his brain fried from the fever, he threw the sheets off his bed, hitting the monitor, subsequently turning off the alarm. Yanking off the wires and IVs, he sat up and rolled out of bed. He winced as he put weight on the casted leg, but ignored the pain. He was driven. Driven by the need to find water and cool down the furnace in his body.

Cyclops staggered to the door leading out to the corridor. Almost as if on autopilot, he exited the sick room and turned right. He made another immediate right and hobbled down the short corridor that led to the outside.

The light footsteps entering the hallway he'd just left never reached his ears, as he had one goal in mind; to find water.

The raw winter air bit into his skin, and he reveled in its cooling comfort. He didn't notice the hard, leaf-covered ground under his bare feet. He just knew he was starting to feel better with the heat dissipating from his body. Needing to attack his thirst, he headed down hill away from the mansion to the lake. '_Water. There'll be plenty of water to quench my thirst down there,'_ he thought.

The sheen of sweat covering his body evaporated in the cold, dry air as he trudged down the hill. He looked through bleary eyes, '_There's the lake'_. A misstep on his bad foot caused him to fall against a tree, and he leaned on it for support to catch his breath. He didn't feel any pain at the moment, just the driving thirst. He stared at the lake ahead of him and confusion entered his muddled brain. '_Why is the lake a dull white? It should be a deep dark blue?'_ After catching his breath, he pushed off from the tree still heading towards the water. The cool, crisp, water.

He stumbled his last step and fell onto the ice. '_Ice? What's ice doing here? Where's the water? There's water under here. I know it'._ But he just stared at it, confused at how to get to it. He crawled out hoping to find the end to the ice so that he could get to the liquid refreshment. Several yards from shore he stopped. Still on hands and knees he realized that all he had to do was look at the ice and it would melt. He concentrated. It worked before. He knew he had done something like that before. Then it came to him. The idea dawned like the sun rising on a cloudy winter day, dull and distant. Just remove the glasses, that's all he had to do.

With his eyewear raised up, he focused his power on one spot, as much as one could focus in his state. He didn't lower his specs until he had a hole in the ice large enough to dive into. Swaying on his knees, he just blinked, the water not registering at first.

'_Water!' _He lay on his belly and started to drink. He pushed himself out further so that the upper half of his body was partly submerged in the frigid pool. After several sips, he laid his head on the ice and his mind slipped into a darkness deeper than the bottom of the lake.


	13. The search

Chapter 13

"Stop here," Storm commanded.

All three huddled behind a rock formation, hidden from the top of the bluff they thought the attack came from.

"I'm going to float up to see what's there."

"Storm, no. I forbid it." The determination in Charles' voice cut like a knife. "Whoever's up there has already shot at two of our planes, what make you think they won't shoot you?"

He looked up, "I'm sure they are located at the top of that. So I think our best bet is to come after them from the ground. I can handle that grade."

The trio slunk their way over to the hill and began the climb. Although not difficult they went slowly and carefully looking for booby-traps or alarms. Storm was the first to reach the top gingerly peering over.

Charles could see a veil of confusion envelop her face. "What is it Storm?"

"I'm not sure Professor." And she climbed boldly onto the flat surface. Jubilee and Xavier followed immediately behind.

Jubilee tilted her head, just as perplexed, "What is this Professor?"

"I think I know, but I want to get a closer look."

Charles started to head over when Stormed grabbed him by the sleeve. "Do you think it's wise to go over there?"

"I'm almost sure it's safe. They have been programmed to shoot objects in the sky."

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"We should get all the children involved to help search for Scott."

"Um, maybe we should limit it to just the older kids, Jean. Due to his, uh, condition."

She looked at Beast with a questioning glare, "Why? I know the kids may be a little traumatized seeing one of their instructors injured, but I don't understand your concern."

"He is without clothing."

She cocked her head at Hank.

"Naked. Unless before he left he found something to dress in. But the gown is still on the table where we threw it during his last heart attack. His clothes hang in the closet in the corner. You know he didn't have bottoms on because of the location of his wound and the broken leg. I think the younger set may not be so traumatized by his injuries as by his lack of clothing."

Jean just stood there, mouth agape. Gesturing, she finally uttered, "Ok…we still have several boys here that are over the age of 14. How did he get out of here with a broken leg? And without setting off the monitor?"

"I believe the sheets are to blame. They seemed to have struck the switch turning off the alarms. That's just pure bad luck for us. And although I was able to do a partial set of the bones with the osteo-regenerator just after his surgery, he really shouldn't have been able to walk on it.

I was afraid to heal his leg completely since it uses the same body energy needed to heal all wounds and fight infection. His leg is only about 50 percent mended. The thin supported cast I put on him would have secured the bones for the needed last two weeks of recover. It really wasn't meant to walk on. But it still seems to have been enough for him."

Jean looked around the lab, "What would he go after that wasn't in here? Why would he leave? Do you think he could have gone to the hangar? Oh God, Hank. Would he take one of the planes and fly back out to New Mexico?"

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"Hey, Gumbo, back so soon?"

Gambit turned around as he exited his car to see Logan hopping off of Cyc's motorcycle.

"Oui, and you too, non?"

"Yeah. Can't wait to tell Xavier what I found. What 'bout you?"

"Yeah, Remy has a good story to tell."

As they headed towards the house, Logan stopped and sniffed the air, "Somethin's not right. I can't place it, but I think we need to get inside now."

As the two X-Men barreled through the door, they narrowly missed Beast.

"Hank. What's going on?"

"Scott's missing. I'm heading to the hangar. I fear he may be thinking of taking one of the planes and heading back out to the crash site. I believe his thinking is still a bit muddled."

"C'mon, let's go!" Logan cried as he headed off in that direction.

Before they followed, Beast looked to Gambit, "Remy, go back to the lab and help Jean. Logan and I have the hangar covered."

"I'm gone, mon ami."

As Hank and Logan reached their destination they slowed down. Beast looked to his friend, "Are you getting anything?"

"He's not here."

"Are you sure?"

Logan glared at Beast, "You questioning me?"

"Sorry Wolverine. I didn't mean to doubt your senses. I'm just worried."

Logan didn't respond right away. He held his head up, sniffing the air. "Hank, somethin' was bothering me when I came in. I'm still not sure what it was, but it was outside. Could Cyc have gone outside?"

"He could have gone anywhere, my friend. I suggest we search there. Jean and Gambit can handle inside."

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Jean turned around startled, hoping that it was Scott who had just walked in. "Gambit. Scott's missing…"

"I know, Chere. Remy and Wolverine just 'bout ran Beast down coming in. They's went lookin' for Cyclops in t'hangar. Have you searched anyplace here, yet?"

"No. I was just about to call some of the older children to help."

"Just call out on the intercom. Ask all the petites to look."

"I can't Remy. Scott's…he's not wearing anything."

"So t'eres a problem wit' dat?"

"Gambit!"

The Cajun just shrugged as a smile cracked the corners of his mouth. "Ok, Jean. You call in da troops, while Remy start the search. Have any idea which way he went?"

"I came from the direction of the library and didn't see him. It doesn't mean he didn't go that way, but I would try looking there first." She said as she pointed down the corridor to the right.

LeBeau headed down the hallway and stopped to study the small passage to the right. He could see the door to the outside from where he stood. He looked straight ahead, then back at the door.

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As Rogue stepped out of the hangar, she was alerted to a commotion by the sound of several running feet. She didn't know where to head first, the War Room or the Sick Room. But she got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when she heard:

"They found him!"


	14. Oh hell, Darlin'

Chapter 14

Remy had planned on continuing down the main corridor, but something nagged at the back of his brain. He decided to try the door at the end of the small hallway. As he cracked it open he was pelted by a frigid blast. Ready to slam it close again he heard a cry from outside. It was Beast.

Plowing through the door, he yelled back over his shoulder to Jean, "They found him!" He ran across the lawn, coming up behind Beast and Wolverine on the edge of the frozen lake. "What're you waitin' for?"

"Look at the size hole he made, Cajun. If any of us go onto the ice, we all go down. Where's Storm or Rogue when you need 'em?" Logan growled.

They turned in unison at the sound of more footsteps behind them. "You were saying, mon ami?"

Jean and Rogue were running down the hill towards them. Before they could even assess the situation, Remy called out, "Chere, take flight and get Cyclops outa t'ere."

Without hesitation Rogue was airborne. She reached him and floated inches above the human icicle. "Oh lawdie, Scott. What did you do?" She broke through the thin layer of ice that reformed in the hole encasing his arm and part of his chest that lay submerged. When she tried to lift him up she met with resistance. It was then she realized that melted ice had refrozen under the rest of his body. He was stuck fast.

"Good God, how am Ah gonna get you out of here, Cyc?"

An idea flashed in her mind and she darted back to shore, "He's frozen solid onto the lake. Ah gotta idea. Remy, this involves you."

"Chere, you know Remy always be dere for you."

"Remember when we, uh…accidentally touched and Ah absorbed some of your powers? Well, Ah think that would work here. Ah don't need much, just 'nough to melt t'ice."

"Sure, go ahead. Remy trust you not to kill 'im."

Logan and Hank spoke in unison, "I don't think that such a hot idea, Rogue. Just break him loose."

"If'n Ah just break the ice around him that's still too much weight and it'll just end up peeling his skin right off."

The Cajun looked to the ground with a moment's hesitation flashing across his facial features. He feared doing this, but he knew time was short and a man's life was at stake. He took a deep breath then extended his hand to her, "Go ahead, Rogue. Time's a-wastin'".

She wished she could think of a better way and hesitated as well before taking off her glove. She knew the consequences of not letting go soon enough. And to do this to the man she loved, she just prayed it worked. Grabbing his hand, she could feel his energy flowing through her. The electricity tingled up her arm and throughout her body. When he groaned, she dropped his hand, "You ok, Remy?"

"Gambit just fine. Now go get Cyclops outa the icetray." He sank to the ground as she took off.

Jean knew in the recesses of her mind that Gambit was hurting, but she couldn't move her eyes off of Scott. She was one hundred percent focused on him. She couldn't tear herself away even for a moment to check on the Remy.

Beast knelt next to the Cajun, arm around his shoulder for support, "That was very brave of you my friend. How are you doing?"

"Remy been better. Did it work?"

"I don't know yet." As he answered, Hank looked over at the pair on the ice.

Rogue placed a hand on the ice on either side of Scott's body. And waited. She grew impatient, "Nothin's happenin'!" she called out.

"Concentrate," Gambit yelled.

"Damn Cajun, I couldn't get it t'stop the last time", then she saw both her hands glow with a charge. The ice around Cyclops melted away under the heat. She threw her gloves on hoping that there was nothing left to fry them. When nothing happened, she grabbed Scott under the arms and lifted him easily from his frozen prison.

She flew right over the heads of those waiting on the beach, "Ah'm going straight to the infirmary. Ah'll meet y'all there." She was glad that Jean used her telepathy to open the outside door.

Back in the sick room, Rogue gently placed Scott on the table. She reached across his body, surprised at its warmth, to grab the sheet that still hung tangled around the monitor. Her eyes drifted down to a place where properly raised southern ladies do not look. This was not the gaze of a pervert but of want and loneliness. A pang of emptiness struck her as she realized this was something she could never have. She loved Scott as a friend and respected him as a leader, but that was the extent of her feelings for him. However, here before her laid a well built handsome man, naked. She envisioned Remy's face in his place knowing his physique was not far off from the one she was looking at. She was envious of Jean, but not jealous. These two had an awesome love for each other. Something she could never have. Upon hearing the sound of running feet she took one more longing glance and quickly pulled the sheet onto the unconscious man.

Hoping that no one would noticed her bright red face, Rogue stepped back out of the way as Jean and Hank burst through the doorway. They hurried to reconnect the IVs and heart monitor in order to figure out the damage the patient had done to himself. She sighed in relief when no one noticed her deep blush.

Logan and Remy were the last to come in, Wolverine assisting the weakened man. Rogue flung herself at Gambit pulling him into a bearhug, "Ah'm sorry Sugar. Ah didn't mean t'hurt ya. Are ya ok?"

"Remy be ok, Chere. Ah do dat anytime t'get a greeting like dis," returning the hug and taking in the fragrance of her hair. He had caught an odd, fleeting glimpse from her, but dismissed it to his own wants and desires. Confusion flashed through his emotions at the intensity and length of the hug but was not going to question what he was enjoying so much.

They finally released their hold on each other as Beast spoke, "I have some good news and some bad news."

"Well, don't keep us all in suspense," Rogue said.

"He does not have hypothermia from his little escapade."

"Is dat the good news or bad, Beast?" Remy pushed.

"Both I'm afraid. His body temperature should be in the 80's with the exposure that he had. But it's not, meaning that the infection is still raging out of control."

Jean leaned into Logan and started sobbing. Rogue saw the pained look on his face and sympathized with him. They both suffered a similar fate, that neither of them could have the one they loved. For Logan, it was because his love belonged to another, but for her all she'd have to do was give Remy the go ahead and he'd be hers, at the probable loss of his own life.

Rogue looked into Remy's loving eyes, then to Logan's pained look, ending up at Jean. She threw her gloves to the floor and yelled, "To hell with this!" and grabbed Scott.

"NO ROGUE!" reverberated through out the infirmary from all those present.

No one could move fast enough as she started screaming, "Ah'm burnin' up. Ahhhh. So hot, so hot! AAAAAAEEEEEEEE!" She then crumbled to the floor.

"Rogue. What the hell did you do that for?" cried Logan.

"Wake up, Chere," cried Remy as he fell to his knees beside her. He caressed her fingers with his gloved hand. "Chere, why? Why did'ya do that?"

Logan didn't hesitate and picked up the woman, placing her on the bed next to Scott's. "Rogue, why t'hell did'ya do that, girl? Speak to me. C'mon, Marie."

Beast hooked her up to another monitor and it showed that her temperature was now spiking out of control, "Jean, quick, grab an IV bag of the antibiotic. We've got to pump it into her as fast as possible."

"Oh hell, Darlin'!" Logan grabbed her bare hands with his and let out a guttural yell before succumbing to the drain.

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Storm looked over the grove of guns standing quiet in front of her. "I think we should get back to base with this news immediately Professor."

"I agree. Go get the Black Bird and pick us up."

"But won't she get shot at again?" Jubilee asked, worried.

Charles looked at her, "No. Because you are going to disable them."

Her eyes widened, "Really! You mean it? I can blow them to smithereens?"

Charles smiled and nodded. "Just wait for Storm to clear the area first. I want you to use your common sense and judgment."

She understood what her teacher meant. She was ready to just let loose with a barrage of fireworks to obliterate the guns. But this was a true test of her controlling her powers and controlling how to use them.

"Storm is safely away. Go ahead Jubilee."

She studied the guns and decided the best one to go after first was the one furthest away. That way if a problem occurred, they were at a safe distance. She looked it over and opted to just remove the gun from the stand. Concentrating she blasted the neck and the gun toppled off.

"Nicely done, Jubilee. That's what I would have done."

Since there were no explosions, or flying shrapnel, she quickly finished off the other weapons. "Professor, won't it be easy for whoever owns these to just put the guns back on their stands?"

"Yes, you are correct. But I don't think we will have to worry about that. However I would like for you to damage the actual guns so that no one can haul away a working weapon. Other than a helicopter, I can't see anyone walking off with these heavy things."

"Have anything particular in mind?"

"How about here? It would damage the barrel as well as the magazine."

Jubilee made quick work of the weapons. She was done and waited for Storm to arrive with the aircraft.

Jubilee and Xavier headed for the plane as Storm appeared in the opening door. "Hurry Professor, there's problems back at base."


	15. so, who done it?

Chapter 15

"Logan!" Beast grabbed him and broke the connection between the two.

He lifted him on the next available bed and looked at the three patients, "I'm afraid the Professor is going to be none too pleased about the current situation. Especially since he specifically told Rogue not to try that maneuver."

Jean checked Rogue's thermometer and let out a breath, "Nevermind that, Beast, her temp's coming down. How's Logan?"

"He's alive, barely. However with his healing abilities, I believe he should recover. He didn't absorb any of the fever, that was a one way drain. I wish they would have warned us before performing a stunt like this." Dismay hung heavy in his voice.

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"Whoa, what happened?" Rogue lifted her head and looked around the room.

"You stay put, young lady. Don't you dare get out of that bed! You've been out for a couple of hours."

"But Ah feel fine, Beast." However as Rogue sat up, she wavered a bit then plunked back down, "Well maybe just a few more minutes."

Beast glared at his patient, "I'm not the kind that says 'I told you so' but 'I told you so.'"

She looked over at Scott, "Did it help?

"I'm not sure Rogue. He still has a very high fever. Although it is lower, I'm not sure if it was because of you or because he went for a swim in ice water. We may have to wait a little longer to find out."

"Man, who dropped the truck on my head?" grumbled Wolverine. He lifted a hand to his face.

Jean scowled at him, "That'll serve you right Logan for pulling that. You could've gotten yourself killed."

"Is she ok?"

Rogue smiled over at him, "Ah'm just fine, Suga'. That was a dangerous but noble thing y'all did for me. Ah sure do appreciate it."

"Well, why d'ya do that to Cyc? Dontcha think that was a bit dangerous yourself? You absorb his sickness, but you don't have my healin' powers."

"Ah dunno. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

All eyes turned to the door as Charles, Storm and Jubilee entered.

Charles' face was red with anger, "What the hell do you think you were doing! It's bad enough to have one X-Man sick and dying. I don't need THREE! I told you earlier Rogue that I didn't want you to try that. And did it work?"

Jean started to answer, "We're not sure…"

"Of course not! If you thought about it you'd realize that you absorb powers. That's energy, not organisms. The infection in his body is from micro-organisms, bacteria attacking his system. You very well could have killed him instead of help him. You robbed him of the energy he needs to heal. What were you thinking!"

None of them ever remember the Professor yelling at this pitch before.

He pounded his chair with his fist. All in the room stood in silence, looking to the floor like little children under the scolding.

Hank tried to change the subject, "What did you find out about the shooting?"

"Once everyone is up on their feet, providing they GET up on their feet, with the exception of Scott, we will all meet in the War Room to discuss it. But I'm in no mood now to go over this. Before you try anymore hairbrained ideas, you run it past me first."

Charles turned to leave the room, stopped, then reversed. His face had softened a bit. "By the way, Jean, how is Scott?"

Jean and Hank looked at each other. They had told Storm what Rogue and Logan did, but did not elaborate with Scott's mid-winter's swim.

"Professor, why don't you freshen up? That will give us some time to see if Rogue had any affect on Scott's condition."

Charles, looking like he has just aged 10 years in the last five minutes left the room. Storm went over and stood between the beds that Rogue and Logan occupied. Jubilee went over to Scott and was horrified at the lack of color in his face. She looked to Jean, "Has he gotten worse?"

Jean looked at the young girl, hesitated, then told her what happened.

"NO SHIT!" She exclaimed.

No one bothered to correct her language. Upon hearing the news, Storm looked to Jean, "You should have told Xavier."

"I will. The timing just wasn't right. I don't ever remember Charles being that angry."

"I can't say that I blame him really. You know how deeply he cares for all of us. I could hear it in his voice when you two were stuck in DC, how badly he wanted to come home and search for Scott and Jubilee." After answering Jean, Storm looked to the newest patients, "…and how are you two doing?"

"I'm ready t'get outa this joint, but…"

"…but I won't let him," finished Beast as he placed a large, powerful hand on Logan's shoulder.

"Same here. Swamp Rat's guarding me like a junkyard dog."

Storm looked to Remy who was holding Rogue's gloved hand, "From the sound of it, you should be in bed as well."

"Who? Me? Remy jest fine. Got plenty o' energy t'spare."

Storm went over to Scott, and placed her hand on his. "I have the powers to command Mother Nature, the most powerful force known but there is nothing that can do to help heal him."

"Well, I got plenty t'help him with if only I could get my powers into him."

Hank looked at Logan, brow furrowed in deep thought, then he bolted into his lab.

All the X-Men in the room looked in his direction, confusion marked each of their faces.

Logan spoke first, "What's that all 'bout? All I said was I wished I could give Cyc my powers. Then Beast bolted outa here like his britches was on fire."

Jean's face brightened and she left the group following Hank.

"Ok, what do they'all know that we don't?" chirped Rogue.

Remy just shrugged.

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Storm knocked on Xavier's door.

"It's open."

She stepped into the office and found Charles staring out the window at the stark grey day. "Professor…"

"It doesn't take psychic ability to know what you're thinking, Ororo. I didn't lose my temper because they disobeyed me. I lost it because I care so deeply for each and everyone of them."

"They know Professor. They sent me here to let you know that both Rogue and Wolverine are completely back to normal."

"And Scott?"

"I'm afraid you were right that Rogue only absorbed energy. There is no change. His fever is still raging out of control."

"You know, I appreciate what she did. She showed what lengths she would go to, to help a fellow X-Man. But if Logan wasn't around, if he didn't do what he did, we could have lost her."

There was a long uncomfortable silence before she spoke again, "I will take my leave and get back to the sick room now."

"Before you go Storm. Can you tell me what that hole in the middle of the frozen lake is doing there?"

"Hmm, Professor. I think it best if one of the others explained that to you."

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A short while later Hank emerged from his lab and cried, "Eureka!" A beaming Jean followed closely behind.

"Scott's blood type is AB positive, a universal recipient. And I just did a quick test with Logan's blood type and there is no rejection."

Jubilee cocked her head, "So?"

Bursting with her own excitement, Jean answered, "It means that we can transfuse some of Wolverine's blood into Scott. Hopefully some of the healing powers would transfer too."

"I think before we go any further, we should call Charles."

"I heard, Storm. Thank you." Charles looked at Hank and Jean as he entered the room, "What are the negatives?"

"The worst that could happen is that it doesn't work. Logan would be no worse for wear, other than down a quart and Scott would not have improved."

"And what if Scott reacts to Logan's blood?"

"I have just performed extensive Blood Bank test, including Coombs, both direct and indirect. There was no agglutination whatsoever.

"We have nothing to lose, Professor," Jean pleaded.

Charles sat quiet for a while, deep in thought. "Logan, are you willing to do this?"

"Hey, Cyc and me have our differences, but that don't mean I want 'im to die. Besides, there's no danger to me, so yeah, I'm ready whenever they are. Eeewwwww, I hate needles."

Charles closed his eyes. After a couple of agonizing minutes, he opened them, "Ok. Perform the procedure."

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Seated in the War room, Charles looked at each person there. "I thought that we could discuss what we've found while we wait to hear about Scott's condition.

"Well, Ah don't think it's Sinister. Ah had a little, uh, discussion with Ruckus and he'all didn't seem t'know anything about it."

"Ruckus?" Remy looked at her incredulously. "Chere, how did ya get him t'talk without blowin' ya away?"

"Ah put a sock in it. Well actually, a dirty rag. As soon as Ah saw 'im, I shoved it down his throat. Took off mah gloves and gave 'im a little southern lesson in manners. Then he was all willin' to talk nice t'me. But he didn't know nuthin' about anythin'. Ah don't believe they did it."

Rogue looked sheepishly in the direction of Charles, "Uh, Professor, y'all might get a bill from that bar. Ah didn't quite get the hang of that shoutin' stuff."

Gambit burst into a side splitting laugh.

A voice from the doorway asked, "What's so funny?"

All eyes turned to the newest arrival.

"Logan! How did it go? Any news? How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine Professor. Jean and Beast are still workin' on Cyc. We're not sure yet if it worked or not. So now, what's so funny?"

"Ah'll tell you later, Suga."

"Well, Remy hit a dead end, too. Calisto don't know nuthin' about an attack on Cyclop's plane."

"Howarya so sure?" Logan asked.

"Gambit got real close to dat Morlock leader. She spilled all da beans under Remy's spell and Cajun charm."

Rogue's face turned bright red, "Why you Swamp-Rat, you slept with that bitch!"

"Now, Petit, t'was all in da line of duty. The sacrifices Gambit makes's never appreciated."

As she went to throw her mug at him, Charles intervened, "Now Rogue. Let's hear how Logan faired."

"Da Friends of Humanity didn't do it. I became all buddy-buddy with one drunk bastard. He was spillin' the bean 'bout everything. Didn't know nuthin' about nuthin'. But Professor, he did tell me of a few other things they was planning against mutants. I think we'll need to address that. Give them a little welcome party, if ya know what I mean."

"Do we have time?" Xavier said with a concerned look.

"Yeah, their first plan ain't for a couple more weeks. Trust me, the way that guy hated mutants, even if he knew someone else did it, he would've wanted to take credit for it."

Charles looked at his X-Men, "I expected as much. Storm, did you do a follow up?"

"Yes Professor. And you were correct."

"Well, don't keep us all in suspense, Storm. What did y'all find?"

Storm was unable to answer as Beast and Jean entered into the War Room.

Jubilee stood, eyes wide with question, "Did it work? Is he going to be alright?"

"His fever broke…"

Before Jean could add anything else, Jubilation jumped for joy shooting off a mild burst of fireworks. Logan slapped the table, a grin splitting his face. Charles looked down, his expression almost unreadable, but Jean could feel his relief. The rest of the team expressed their joy in various ways.

The professor looked at the pair standing in the doorway, "There's more isn't there?"

Beast spoke this time, "Professor. Scott had been suffering an intense fever. Fevers this hot tend to cause brain damage. Unfortunately, we won't know until he wakes up. If he wakes up."

"I thought you just said he would be alright?"

With compassion in her eyes, Jean looked to Jubilee, "I just said his fever had broken. I didn't have a chance to continue."

The young girl looked down. She had been through so much, carried such weight, it was the final straw. She ran from the room in tears. As Jean went to follow, Charles spoke up, "Leave her be. She needs to let it out. She needs a good cry, alone."

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There was a light tap on the door. So light that Jubilee didn't hear it at first, until it was followed by, "Jubie, they want you in the sick room."

She pushed herself off the bed and quickly dried her face with the back of her sleeve. A glance in the mirror revealed puffy, bloodshot eyes. "I can't go down looking like this."

She splashed water on her face at the sink, patting it dry. Studying her face once again she wrinkled her nose at her reflection. She pouted her bottom lip, "This will have to do."

She entered an almost deserted room, the lights were turned low. But there was no mistaking that Scott was sitting up in bed. She knew he was looking at her through his tinted glasses.

Jubilee pounced on him, nearly knocking him over, "You're alright! No permanent damage from the fever?

He shook his head, "All better."

Jubilation's face just about exploded with joy.

"I think I owe it all to you too. If you hadn't…"

"Scott, it was Wolverine who saved your life. He gave some of his blood to you."

"I know that's what broke the fever. But Jubi, if it weren't for you, I never would have made it out of the desert alive." He reached for her, pulling her towards him and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

She looked around and found that everyone had given the two of them privacy, "Uh Cyclops, I need to tell you something, I need…"

Charles entered the room, "You're awake. Wonderful."

"Hi, Professor."

"How do you feel, Scott?"

He watched Jubilee slip back, "Like I was in the pocket of someone's jeans going through several wash and dry cycles. I'm wiped. But, I'm alive and on my way to recovery. Thanks to a very special young lady." He nodded towards the teen who looked like she was trying to blend into the wall.

"I stopped in to tell you what we found out. I've told everyone else already, but you were still unconscious."

Scott's face furrowed, "So, who did this to Jubes and me?"

Charles looked at the pale face of his ground commander, "No one."

His jaw dropped, "What do you mean 'no one'?"

"Several decades ago, the government set up automatic defense systems throughout the country when the possibility of invasions from other countries loomed. They were supposed to have all been dismantled 10 years ago. They missed one. In a way, we did a great favor to many people both humans and mutants alike. It was a time bomb waiting to happen to any aircraft that ventured low enough into the airspace to trigger the defense mechanism. If any commercial flight was at the right altitude, they would have been shot from the sky. As it was, Scott, you triggered it by giving Jubilee a flying lesson and telling her to descend when you did."

Scott just shook his head, "Unbelievable! Did you knock 'em out?"

Jubilee started beaming again, "Yeah. Professor let me do it! I really wanted to just blow 'em to smithereens, but I decided to simply put them out of commission."

Charles continued, "They will be of no use to anyone now. I spoke to the President who will ask for a review of all the sites to make sure there are no more active guns. A lot of people owe their lives and thanks to you two. Scott, I want you to get some rest now. We can handle everything else here."

As he turned to leave, he heard Charles ask, "Does anyone know about the hole in the middle of the lake?"

The end.


End file.
